Where there is will, there is way

I always knew how I was going to die. It was written on my skin from the day I was born. Life has always been difficult for me. I was born in a small town called "Goral", which is Hebrew and translates to destiny or fate.

It's ironic when you have a tattoo on your body that already tells you how you're going to die, but you live in a place called fate. The whole population of my town had different tattoos. What makes it interesting is that we all had unique tattoos, different from one another. One had a tattoo of a woman covering her face with a bleeding hand, which is known as the tattoo of death by a thousand cuts.

One had flaying knives, which implies death by having skin removed from the body through painful execution. We have tattoos that defined our fate.

I live with my mom and two sisters. I lost my father when I was two years old. I barely knew him. My mother always tells me what kind of gentleman he was, a hard worker. He wanted to change the lives of his family, but his dream couldn't turn into reality. My mother told me he died by hanging himself, suicide! He had a tattoo of a red string, which implies death by suicide.

My father couldn't deal with the pressure of providing for his family. He failed short, trying to change the lives of his family. Poverty overcame him. My mother got married after 10 years of mourning, hoping it could change things. She got married to a rich man. He was good to me and they loved each other. Life was looking good now that we have a provider. Shortly after, they had twins. My mom was so happy. We thought everything would be okay now. Life continued in the little town of Goral.

My stepfather and my mother were talking to me about moving to another town and having a fresh start. We were all excited, but on moving day, tragedy strikes again. We found my stepfather dead near a river. We were gutted and in shock. The thing is, we were living in a fairy tale. We had forgotten about reality, which is the fact that our destiny is already written by the tattoos we had on our bodies.

My stepfather had a tattoo of a clown's face, which meant death by despair and hopelessness.

The joy blinded us, that we forgot all about the tattoo we had. What shocked us was, my stepfather was always hopeful. He believed we can change our lives and things can get better. He always believed that anyone can change their fate.

Life continued for me and my mom. At least this time, we have 2 little girls running around the house that bring a smile to our faces. It's the day of my 25th birthday. I hated waking up because I am not celebrating my coming to this wicked world. I'm rather counting down my days. What is there to be happy about? Absolutely nothing! Nothing can change my fate! But it doesn't mean I can't get up from my bed. My wretched but somehow cheerful mom came to my room early in the morning to congratulate me.

All I can do is say thank you and have a smile on my face. It's the least I can do. After having a little chat with my mom, my younger sisters all came into my room to congratulate me as well. We had a lot of fun, I would say. My tattoo was a tattoo of a dagger piercing through a rose, which means betrayal or heartbreak.

I usually go out on a walk when it's midnight. It's odd and unusual, I know, but that didn't stop me. The fact that I live in a cursed town filled with people waiting for their date didn't stop me from going out at a dangerous time to have a walk. The day after spending my 25th birthday, I went out for a walk like I usually do.

I have done this for over 10 years and not even once have I come across another person, but on that day I saw a young lady sobbing, shedding tears. I had to ask her what was wrong, so I approached her and asked her what was wrong. She told me she was miserable about waiting for her death. Her name was Adina, which means noble but delicate. I asked her what her tattoo was. She rolled up her sleeve and showed me. It caught me by surprise because I have seen nothing like it. It was a short phrase, and it said "death by starvation".

Every tattoo I saw in this town was a symbol with a deeper meaning. I have never seen a phrase. I tried to comfort her, and we shared our stories. She asked me what I was doing outside at this hour, and I told her about my midnight walks. She asked if she could do it with me. I couldn't say no, and we had a very long walk. We even went as far as the entrance of our town. She insisted we go further.

At the entrance of our town, there was a big gate. On the gate, there was a wooden plague that had a symbol encrypted on it. I never really understood what it was or what it meant. I didn't even bother to ask. I'm a man counting down the days of my death. I shouldn't be worried about what a symbol says. Life went by and me and Adina had fallen in love. I was hopeful meeting Adina would somehow change my life, but it didn't.

The 15th of December is a holiday for our town. It's a day when all the people of the town get together to eat, dine, dance, and have all sorts of fun. On that day, no one can talk about their tattoo. It's called the "day of neglect" where we forget all about our misery and spend a cheerful day.

I didn't want to go. That day, instead of going to the parade, I went out for my walk. I was enjoying my walk, and I even went as far as going out of town. At the gate I saw an old man, he was helpless, lying on the floor calling for help. I rushed to him, and he said to me, "I bring you great joy. " I was mad at first because this man was helpless. Why would he say something like this? I asked him what he meant, and he pointed to the plague that was on the gate.

He told me what the symbol meant. The symbol means "Where there is will, there is way". I was star-struck. I felt reborn. I had mixed emotions. I was happy. I laughed a lot, but I also started crying. The old man said to me, "I will be okay, go share the good news with the people". I went straight to the parade. I told people about what I had just heard, but no one will listen. I had forgotten about the "golden rule". You can't talk about your tattoos or any related topic.

I rushed to my house and there was my mom knitting. I told her about it. If we want to do anything we can, even if it's difficult, we will find a way. I didn't care about my tattoo. The following day, I got up early and went out to share the news with others. Some pushed me away, harassed me, and even tried to stab me to death, but I got away. We only live once, we define our destiny. I'm now living life to the fullest. I didn't let the fact that I will die cross my mind.

I now own a farm and also a bakery. I have provided jobs for 50 people. These 50 people are the only people that accepted my news. I enjoy my life with these people, with my family, and also with Adina, who is now my wife. I didn't let society or a tattoo define my story, I live my story! I'm the writer of my story.