Secret Time

"Can I keep a secret?" is the question that Paula asked her friend. She just had to tell someone "the secret" before her gut burst wide open and she watched her insides flow out of her body. Tyler had told her "the secret" that was shocking and unbelieveable. She would never had guessed that in a million, trillion years. He had told that wrong person "the secret".

Marie stood there looking at her best friend, Paula debating if she should really tell "the secret" to get it off her chest and to know what other people thought of it. It was ,so wild that she thought no one was actually going to believe it. Thinking back to when they were in school Marie would have swore that Tyler just made it up to discredit a teacher. They weren't in school anymore and he wasn't discredit anyone. Well, maybe he was. What should she do? Should she tell someone and they would tell the next person? What was the right thing to do? Everyone was always kidding her that she couldn't keep a secret. Maybe she should zip her lips shut and prove it to everyone that she could keep a secret!

Paula stood there staring at her friend wondering what goof actually told her a secret that there wanted no one else to tell or know. As she looked at her friend, she knew she was about to bust at the seams and the explosion would be heard far away as well as nearby. Marie took her hand and lead her over to a bench to sit down. They had walked over from their apartments to get their bodies moving and to get some fresh air. In the winter time, Marie walked on her treadmill while Paula still got the fresh air while she ran around the park several times.

Sitting down, Marie took her friend's hand to pat it and she looked deep into her eyes. She said, "Now, think about this before you let loose with someone's secret. Do you think they would really want you to tell something that you probably don't know if it is true or not? Would they want you to spill your guts about something that may or may not be true and wouldn't you feel horrible if it turned out false and the person hurt themselves because of something you repeated?"

Marie watched the decision flash across Paula's face and she hoped that she would keep her mouth quiet for once. She had stood on the sidelines before and watched Marie spread false rumors with a gusto. It was like an all consuming fire that took hold of Marie and wouldn't let go of her until she told someone else then the fire moved on to the next person to grab hold of them. The next victim to be taken hold of by the all consuming fire would repeat Marie's action and tell someone else by telling them the rumor which also meant passing the all consuming fire also.

Like the one time, Marie helped spread the rumor that another friend was pregnant by someone else than her boyfriend. The rumor didn't stop with their little circle of friends. No dear old Marie told a friend, a dear classmate that dislike the other friend. Well, to make a long story short, the classmate told her parents who called the other friend parents to inform them that their daughter was pregnant. Well, needless to say there was a fight between girlfriend and boyfriend who almost broke up. The parents fought and didn't speak to each other for almost three years. The twosome swore never to talk to their parents unless they forgave the other parents. To prove, everyone wrong the girlfriend went to the doctors to see if she was pregnant and the doctor informed her she was not pregnant. The parents would not forgive each other because both set were very stubborn and bullheaded. This all resulted because of a silly rumor that was spread among friends.

Paula had said that she learned her lesson not to spread rumors at the expensive of someone else. They had traced it back to her and they had fought like cats and dogs, birds and snakes. For the next two years, neither of them spoke to each other, only giving each other mean death stares. Calling names which they didn't mean but both of them had hot tempers which hadn't cooled off yet. This all resulted because of a silly rumor that was spread among friends.

Over a period of two years they seemed to cool off and forgive each other. Paula had learned not to gossip and to stay out of other people's business. She made a vow to herself that she would polite say, "No, I don't want to hear a secret." And if they wouldn't take a "NO!" for the answer, she simply would listen to the rumor. Then, completely ignore it as a false rumor to get back at someone or it was someone's else business to handle. She would go on with whatever she had been doing and file the false rumor away never to take it out again.

Marie didn't want Paula to get into the habit of spreading rumors once again ,so she gently remind her of the situation from the past. Paula cheek's reddened ash she remembered that she had almost lost two of her friends that had helped her a lot. Two friends that turned into a loving couple because of their shared interests and love for each other. Marie couldn't have been more happy for them.

She had toss their relationship into the fire, just for a chance to spread false rumors. What did she get out of that chance to talk to someone that didn't even like her? A chance to spread something that almost broke up a loving relationship that was leading to the marriage altar. Another relationship between two friends that had been close friends from school. Was that enjoyment of spreading rumor really worth the enjoyment of talking to someone who really didn't care for her worth it?

"Can I keep a secret?" No, I can't ,but starting with this secret, I am going to start keeping them to myself, Paula thought. Marie was proud of Paula for choosing to keep the secret and not tell her. She knew that it was hard for Paula ,but she also knew that Paula was strong and it would get easier not to spread rumors. Marie knew that the secret would end with her dear friend, Paula and they would watch the fireworks happen when the person found out about the secret.

A few weeks later, Paula was still proud of herself for listening to the secret ,but not spreading it any farther. She was especially happy when the person involved in the secret came looking for answers. All she could tell him was that Tyler told her the secret and no she didn't spread it any farther. When he told her that she was a very special friend to him and said thanks, she beamed with rays of proudness. She felt like she was going to bust with pride, she had fought a hard battle against a bad habit of spreading gossip and had won the big prize.

"Can I keep a secret?" Yes, I can. Can you?