Love In The Wild West

Chapter 7

Kurt and Lila sat on the ground laughing together. “That was so much fun!” said Lila. “I mean, I can barely feel my legs thanks to all of that riding, but I do not even care. I have never had this much fun in my life!”

“Same here,” said Kurt, looking at her with adoration. “I am really glad that we did this together. I do not think I would have had the courage to do it on my own.”

“Oh this didn’t take courage,” said Lila. “Just an open mind.”

“Well I think that it did take courage,” said Kurt, “especially because normal people would have been intimidated by this. I mean, I am the owner of this establishment after all. Most people would feel like they should behave a certain way around me. Most people would feel like when I ask them how they like my hotel, they are obligated to say that they love it. This is never the case, of course, I always want people to feel comfortable around me and tell me what they really think but no one seems to realize that this is how I feel. I guess I just give off that kind off vibe.”

“I do not think that it is because you are intimidating or anything,” said Lila. “I think it’s just because people want you to like them.”

“What do you mean?” asked Kurt.

“Well,” said Lila, “you are a really handsome guy. And you are very charming as well, this is a pretty killer combination. When people are around you, they seem to change their behavior because they want you to like them. They want this handsome, charming individual to pay attention to them and give them approval. I understand why they feel the need to do this.”

“You do not do this, though,” said Kurt. “You behave normally around me and tell it like it is.”

“I do, don’t I?” said Lila. “I am rather surprised by this. Maybe it’s because I am the type of person that is determined to be the way she actually is rather than the way people think she should be. I grew up with parents that always made me feel like the way I was was somehow wrong or bad. I was always made to feel like my personality was somehow inherently flawed. I grew up and moved out and was able to maintain my sanity, but as a result I had really low self esteem and so I compensated for this by standing firm and never changing who I really am for anyone at all.”

“That is amazing,” said Kurt. “It’s really amazing that in spite of growing up in such a toxic environment you were able to keep your personality intact. Most people would have crumpled up and given in in the face of such toxicity. I think this is what I like about you the most.”

“What?” asked Lila.

“I think I like the fact that you are always you quite a bit. I mean, you do not take sh*t from anybody, anybody at all. You maintain your cool and always make sure that the person in front of you knows who you are. It is something that not a lot of people have, but I do think that you do it quite well. What’s really amazing is that most people force this kind of strength, you seem to have it inherently.”

Lila looked at the ground between her feet.

“What’s wrong?” asked Kurt. “Did I say something I should not have?”

“No,” said Lila. “No, not at all. I just… this is new to me. I am not used to being spoken of in this manner. I mean, all my life I have had to fight for visibility. I have had to force people to notice me and to take me seriously. You, though… you always take me seriously, everything I say seems to hold weight with you. I guess I am just not used to someone thinking so highly of me.”

“You should get used to it,” said Kurt firmly. “This really is how you are supposed to be seen. You are an amazing woman, and people are going to want a piece of you. They are going to want to see this incredible creature that is like something out of a story book. I am not saying this to make you feel good, I am just saying this because it is the truth. You are going to realize one thing about me: that I do not say things that make people feel good, especially if these things are not inherently true. I believe that people should always tell the truth, even if it is a difficult truth because a lot of people sometimes need to hear such things for themselves. I think that if I tell the truth at all times, it is going to end up making the world a better place in one way or another. I know that I do not have a chance of doing this on a large scale, but at the same time I believe that if I try hard enough and ensure that I do not lie to anyone for any reason, this is going to result in the world truly becoming a better place to exist in, and this is something that I believe is truly going to help things.”

“I agree,” said Lila. “However, don’t you think that sometimes it is better to be kind than truthful? I mean, sometimes there are truths that people simply do not want to hear, and frankly they do not need to hear these truths either. Sometimes it is kinder to just let people be, because telling them these truths is only going to end up making them feel bad about themselves and there really is no point in doing that, right?”

“You have a point,” said Kurt cautiously, weighing each word out in his mouth before he spoke it. He had a very measured way of speaking, a way of speaking that seemed to indicate that he thought quite a bit before saying something. Lila appreciated this immensely. She loved it because it was so different from what she was used to. In the city, people, were loud and obnoxious and said everything that came into their heads. Kurt was different, he always thought before he spoke and this was something that Lila really came to appreciate.

“I think that kindness is extremely important,” Kurt continued after a short pause in which he seemed to have been thinking about what he wanted to say. “However, at the same time, don’t you think that harsh truths are important to help people improve themselves?”

“Maybe,” said Lila, “but there are also times when harsh truths do not do anything to help people. All they do is bring people down. I mean, if you see someone that is overweight and you call them fat, a lot of the time it’s not going to do much for them. All it’s really going to do is make them feel bad about themselves. Every day you hear about children killing themselves because they felt attacked, they felt like the world did not want them in it. This is something so sad, and it can be avoided if we simply start choosing kindness over truth. I really think that if we put effort into it, we can make sure that the people around us feel good about themselves, and I think that more than anything else this is what is going to make the world a better place. Kindness, not truth.”