MY VENUS DE MILO

UNEDITED SAMPLE LITERARY ARTICLE
By Jose Mari Hall Lanuza
IV – Enrico Fermi


She is blind. She is foolish. She is ridiculous, to the point of insanity. She is simply unbelievable. She has endured so much, and she still continues to ask for more suffering. Are you asking why she continues to ask for more pain? It is because she is not actually suffering. She does not see her sacrifices as pain, but rather as an act of unconditional love. A love that is unsurpassable, a love that is absolute. Funnily enough, it is.

When I was young and I did not care about the world and the lives of the people living in it, I used to always cry at the wrong time, usually waking her up from her deep and well-deserved slumber. I would do this just because of my midnight hunger pangs, not caring if others woke up because of my horrendous cries. She would then come rushing to my side, looking as if her whole world was full of sadness and melancholy. She would pick me up, relieved, because she would realize that I was only hungry, and I needed food that, unfortunately for her, only she could provide. She would then selflessly surrender her sleep for my selfish needs.

When I was a child who did not know anything except for chocolates and TV, I would usually make her tired just by chasing me around because I did not want to take a bath. I would drive her to the end of her wits because I preferred to play with my toys than have a peaceful dinner with her. I would make her put up with my silly antics because I did not have anything better to do, while she overworked herself with house chores, her own job, and sadly, with me. How pathetic of me.

And yet, after all of those cold, sleepless nights, those tiring shenanigans that I made her go through, she still calls my name by the same melodic voice that never fails to enchant me. She still cares for me the same way she did when I was a very annoying brat. Of course, I would be forever sorry for al of the hardships I caused. But I marvel at the thought of her patience and unconditional love for me. For all I know, she could have just been harsh to me the moment I gave her a headache. But she did not. Instead, she gave me a world that was full of smiles and joys, despite my bad treatment. She shielded me from the pain, when I know that I deserved to be hurt just because of what I did to her. She never let me experience any pain that was unnecessary. She was a saint.


Why did it have to be her? Why did a benevolent soul have to be tormented by childish acts of selfishness? She was so kind. She possessed a beautiful soul that was capable of giving an endlessly-flowing river of affection. I gratefully basked in her fountain of love. I never again did anything that I know would hurt her. I always tried to be good for her. I always did things that would make her proud of me, that would make me think that all her hardships were worth it.

She is the perfect woman for me. She always will be. She is my foundation. She is my Venus de Milo. She is my protector. She is my mother.