This is Part I of Until You’ve Bled
t’s been said that greatness requires either madness or sadness. Or a combination of both.
Little Jessica had the best relationship with her father. Her Daddy loved her. And took her everywhere.
The two of them were inseparable. Daddy loved Jessica every bit as much as he loved Mommy. And he loved his two little ladies even more than he loved himself.
Don’t get me wrong. He loved himself greatly. You could even say he was in love with himself. But as much as he was in love with himself, he loved little Jessica and Mommy even more.
On the days he didn’t work, he would take Mommy and little Jessica to the river. You’d see the three of them, all hand in hand in a row of three with Daddy in the middle. All three smiling and happy.
Little Jessica loved two things. She loved rocks. And she loved lizards. She’d pick up a lot of rocks, but only keep her favorites.
Her favorites weren’t very consistent. You’d have a hard time predicting which rocks she’d like and which ones she’d put back down again. That was her nature though.
Her mind spun so much faster than the other kids. Whereas, you could predict what other kids want, you couldn’t with Jessica. Except lizards. She never met a lizard she didn’t love.
Daddy didn’t let little Jessica take any lizards home though. She had to play with the lizards by the river, and put them back by the river before they all headed home. That was the rule. The lizards live there. They don’t live with us.
Little Jessica didn’t like bugs. But she still would catch them to see if the lizards would eat them. She’d catch a fly, then tear off both of the fly’s wings so the fly couldn’t fly away from the lizard. Sometimes, she’d let the lizard loose and the lizard would eat the fly. Other times, she’d let the lizard loose and the lizard would immediately scramble back into the bushes.
The latter made her sad as it was a waste of a fly. But Daddy would assure her not to worry. Another lizard would come along, find the fly, and eat it. And be thankful to little Jessica because little Jessica made his job easier. It’s not easy for a lizard to catch a fly with wings.