Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare

Jack was so happy that he had graduated from school because he could decide what to do next for the rest of his life. He wanted to pursue his education in college, and he was so fond of literature. However, one thing about him was that he did not have a lot of friends. Most of the time, he sat still, looking outside the window and contemplating. In his life, he knew very few people who shared the same interests with him. He had never participated in any parties during school. However, since it was the last ball where he could see the people he interacted with daily, he decided to go.

The day came, and he was ready to go to the graduation party. He was mainly known as "nerdy" among the students because he would usually sit in the library for hours and study. He did not have any other skills other than reading books. He did not know how to talk to people, make friends, or comfort people when they needed someone to talk to. And there he was, sitting alone among the crowd and studying people. He saw how boys and girls were chatting without even knowing one another. All his life, he had questioned whether love existed and whether what he saw between boys and girls was true love or something else. He had never loved anyone and believed that loving someone else was the stupidest thing to do in this world. He thought we could carry on without loving someone or having someone to love us. He had been ridiculed the moment he would express his thoughts toward love in class, so he decided not to talk about it for a long time. However, he would listen to his friends’ ideas without judging them, but never changed his.

It was 10 past 9, and nobody familiar showed up. It was a miracle for an introvert like him to find someone he could relate to on such occasions. A few minutes later, a few people came in, and he was delighted to see them. He approached and greeted them. Then, he sat with them for the rest of the time. He was not talkative, so he just sat there listening to their conversations. They were talking about different topics, but none of them interested him enough to step out of his comfort zone and talk about his ideas. When they finished, one of the attendees suggested playing the familiar game “Truth or Dare”. He did not know the game's rules, so one of them explained how the game worked. 

At first, he was hesitant because he was not comfortable talking about his life and was not that courageous to do something unusual. However, in the end, he agreed to join the game. The game began. One by one, they would choose either truth or dare. He was observing them, studying how they made their choices and whether they were telling the truth or not. Now, it was his turn. Somebody asked, "Truth or Dare?!" He replied hesitantly, "Dare." The questioner thought for about half a minute and then continued, "Have you ever loved anyone in your life?" He said, "Yeah, my mom." The questioner then went on and said, "That’s not what I mean. I meant like loving someone to share your life with.” Jack replied, “No.” Then the questioner continued, “I dare you not to fall in love with anyone for the rest of your life and even expressing your feelings toward someone would count as breaking the rule.” 

It was odd. That meant he would be a bachelor for the rest of his life. He was confused. Everybody was looking at him and waiting for his reaction, but he was motionless. He thought that was the easiest thing he could do, so he accepted the challenge quickly. In order to prove that he could do it, he made a deal and wrote it down; then to prove he meant it, he pricked his finger and signed the paper with a drop of blood. 

All of his peers were shocked. They thought he was crazy. The only person among them that was content was him. He attached the document: "If I break my promise, I will go to the highest building in town and jump off it." When he read this part, they started murmuring. They thought he was out of his mind, but he was not. He wanted to show them that you did not need a lover to live because he believed that we were born alone and die alone in the end, so we did not need someone in between to love us and care for us.

Months passed. He was ready to go to college in a few days. He thought about the new environment he was about to enter. New people with different personalities and perspectives. He was not sure whether he could fit in or not. On the very first day, when the professor came in, she asked them to introduce themselves one by one. He was not sure what to say. He just said his name, his age, which school he went to, how long he had been studying English, and stuff like that. Mission accomplished. He had a fear of speaking in front of people, but he managed it well. 

He knew very few people in his class, and he chose them whenever they had to team up for a project. However, he found someone with whom he had so much in common. They spent most of their time together at the university. He soon became his closest friend. Now he had someone to talk to and tell him everything. He had not had such a person in his life, and he was thankful to have him back then.

The final exams began. He was ready because he had studied the entire syllabus during the semester and just needed a recap. He did a great job, and his total grade became an A. 

He still remembered the promise he had made that night. He would constantly say to himself, "I am a man of my word, and I will not break my oath." 

Although he was not that sociable, he tried to meet new people in semester two. Now, he had more friends than ever. He hung out with them. He participated in their discussions; he even learned to joke and make others laugh, which he had never done before. He was different now. He had started caring more about people. He would constantly ask his best friend: "How are you doing?" and when he saw that he was sad, he would do anything to make him laugh. 

Their group got bigger and bigger, and it was a mix of boys and girls. Besides his best friend, there was this girl who had something strange about her. He would sit and look at her in astonishment, like she carried a kind of warmth he had never seen before. He was feeling something that he had never felt before. One time, he just realized that they had been talking with each other for about an hour, and he did not want to stop. There was this chemistry between them that he had not noticed before. 

During the second semester, he struggled to understand this sensation. It was something that he had never experienced before. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her. When he saw that she was talking to other people, he got jealous. Even he envied those who spent more time with her. When she talked to him, he barely focused on her words because he was too lost in her presence. He just looked at her like she was some kind of alien from another world.

One day, he sat and talked about this with his best friend. Jack was not sure whether his feeling was love or not. His friend confirmed that he had fallen in love with her when he explained everything. 

The person who claimed we did not need love to live now was experiencing it. When he found out it was love, he asked, “In this case, what does a person usually do?” his best friend said, "He goes forward and explains everything." “Then what happens?” Jack said. His best friend replied, "She will either accept you or reject you." "Simple as that!" Jack said. His friend replied: "Simple as that." 

He still remembered the moment he signed the contract with his blood. Then he repeated these words again: "I am a man of my word, and I will never break my oath." 

He was indecisive. Once, he did not believe in love, but now he could not live without it. He did not know which path to take. He thought, "If I reveal my feelings, I am sentenced to death." 

For a short period of time, he did not say anything. He kept it a secret. However, it was too late. In classes, all of his focus was on her. He did not hear what the professors were saying. Every day, day and night, he thought of her and dreamed of her. He dreamed they were on some remote island where there were just him and her.

How strange love is. Once, he thought it was absurd, but look at him now. He was dreaming of sharing his life with somebody else. For centuries, people have tried to understand love without success, but they are sure that it can change people's views and perspectives on life.

Final exams had arrived. He was not ready to take them. He had not studied anything at all. He had to study the night before exams, but it was not enough. He even thought of her during exams, and by the time the exams were over, he found it difficult to say goodbye to her. Since he did not want to believe that he was not able to see her for about 3 months, he left the campus the moment he finished his exam. Then he regretted not saying goodbye to his friends, but it was too late again.

During the summer holidays, he found time to review what he had done during the past 2 semesters. While watching the images, he would zoom in on her to see her beautiful smile. He just wanted the new semester to begin, but he had to wait 90 days, and each day, he grew older and older. Not seeing her for one day was hard, but he had to endure those days until he met her again. Until then, He sat still, doing nothing except dreaming of her.

Nobody understood the actions you took when you loved someone and wanted them so badly. Love could turn you into something different. The question was: was she going through tough times like him, or did she just not care whether he existed or not?

Still, there was one month until the new semester began. He was determined to tell her how he felt about her, but he was too shy to bring up the issue in person. Instead, he prepared a text message but did not send it to her. 

The summer was over, and the classes were about to start. He was very happy because he could see her again after three months. When he got into the faculty on the first day, he just looked around to see whether she had come or not. She had not. She had told others that she could not make it the first week, but she would attend the classes regularly from the second week. He was upset because now he had to wait another week to see her.

Again, Jack went to his best friend to talk about his love. He did not want to say anything about his vow unless he had to. He explained everything from the beginning, and his friend was listening carefully. After he was done, his best friend said, "I knew there was something between you and her. I just wondered why you did not tell her sooner!" Jack was nervous, so he talked about that graduation party. He said that he had made this promise, and he did not want to break it because if he did, he would have been dead. Then he continued proudly: "I am a man of my word, and I will not break my oath." His best friend laughed and said, "Love does not work like that. You either tell her, or you wait so long until you are dead inside. It does not matter if you die because of breaking your vow or you live long, but you are dead inside. It is just worse. When you die, you die, and everything is finished. But when you do not do the thing that you should do, you die gradually, and it is more painful and harder." Jack was listening attentively. His best friend then continued in laughter: "Nobody remembers what they had for dinner, then you expect someone to remember that you made a promise a year ago?!" then he muttered, "Do you still see them?" Jack replied, "No. All of them left the country the moment they graduated from school. Since then, I have not seen them." His best friend shouted: "Then, why have you stuck yourself to the promise you can break without everyone finding out?!” 

His best friend did not know that he was not like that. Either he made a promise, or he did not make any promise at all. But this time was different. His best friend's words made him wonder about the situation one more time.

Days passed, and he still had not made up his mind. After a few days, he was determined to express his feelings. He typed another message and explained everything from the very first time he saw her. He told her how much she meant to him, that his love for her was unconditional, and that he would do anything to please her. 

This time, he sent it, but he did not receive a response for about two days. He felt a sense of guilt because, for the first time in his life, he had broken his vow. Even upon the second day, he regretted sending her the message, but it was too late.

On the third day, he received a message from her. He was too nervous to open it. His hands trembled as he stared at the screen. At first, he was hesitant. He waited for about an hour or two, then opened it.

She explained that she was experiencing some tough times. Then she continued that he meant a lot to her and that she wanted to maintain their friendship. That was it. At first, he was not sure whether it meant yes or no, but upon reading it two or three times, he got his answer. 

Jack went numb. He sat motionless for about an hour, just wondering. Why did she say no? He did not come up with an answer, so he went up to his best friend. He showed him the message, and he said, " Everything is over." Then he continued, " What do you want to do about it?"  Jack remained silent. 

Days passed. He acted as if nothing had happened; nothing was over for him. He thought of her day and night and was hoping to be with her one day, but that day never came.

One day, he sat down, grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and started writing. After it was finished, he gave it to his best friend and told him: " Open this only if something terrible happens to me. Remember, you should read it before the class and promise me you will not open it until that day." His best friend said, "What the hell are you talking about?" Jack continued, "Just promise you will do this for me, please?" his best friend was confused, and he did not know what was happening back then.

Jack had broken his oath. Breaking a promise, to Jack, was worse than death. He had no other choice, but to live with that. He was in a chaotic state and did not know what he was doing.

They were approaching the exams. He did not participate in all of the classes on the last week, which was odd because he had not missed a day since college started. His best friend was worried. He would call him every day, but he received no answer. 

When the classes finished, everybody said goodbye and left the college. They had one week to prepare themselves for the exams and also rest a little bit.

The day before exams, Jack dressed up and went out. He had always liked the tower in their town and visited it two or three times a month, so all the staff members knew him. He went to the roof of the tower. It was so high it seemed to touch the sky. He went to the edge of one side of the building and stood there momentarily. Staring at the rising sun, he said, "Truth or dare?" and replied, "Definitely dare!" then he jumped off the building.

He was dead! A lot of people were gathered around his dead body. He was dead, and nobody was able to do anything. 

All the news and media were broadcasting this tragic incident. People all around the city were heartbroken and still did not know why he did this to himself. When his old friends found out, they burst into tears because they knew why he did that. All of them had forgotten that promise, but he did not. As he would say, he was a man of his word and would not break his oath. 

His current friends did not hear the news because they were too busy preparing for the exams. Only his best friend knew about the incident, which left him depressed.

The entire city was shaken by the incident. However, only one of his university friends attended the funeral, and it was his best friend. Nobody knew that he had lost his parents when he was a little boy. 

Now, there was only one thing left to do. 

The next day, before the exam was about to start, his best friend asked permission to read something to the class. The professor did not want to let him do it, but he insisted, and eventually, he went to the board. 

His best friend opened the letter with his eyes filled with tears and started reading. 

In his letter, Jack explained that he did not believe in love, and all his life, he denied that such a feeling even existed. He said he thought one could live alone for the rest of his life without having someone to love them. But it was not true. He said he had missed many beautiful days, convincing himself he could live without love. 

He told his friends that people should express their feelings toward someone as soon as possible and be ready to get rejected. That's part of the job. At least you did not have to regret each day, saying, "I had the chance to tell her, but I did not." He did not mention his own experience of this because he still loved her even after he got rejected. 

Upon hearing the death news, all of his classmates started crying. 

She was so touched by the letter that she cried so heavily and wondered, “Why did I say no to him?” She was overwhelmed with guilt and blamed herself for his death.

She did not know that he would have jumped off that building, even if her answer was yes. All his life, he never broke his promise because he was the man of his word and would not break his oath. 

The end