Lex was the strongest, most muscular athlete of them ALL, and he travelled around the country showing off his gifts to the hundreds, sometimes thousands of people that would attend. He was gifted with the strength to lift two horses with one hand. He was gifted with Incredible Hulk-like muscles, and he was gifted with a large bus to take him from city to city. When performing for the crowd, he'd lift horses with the left hand, flex his giant muscles with the right arm - while the crowd would scream and cheer for Lex. "WE lOVE YOU, LEX!" "LEX! LEX! LEX!" "LEX IS SUPERMAN!" Lex lived for these moments. He had it ALL... or so it seemed. Every night, Lex would return to his bus, all alone. No fans by his side. No chants. No one. The only thing Lex had, the only thing he felt, was sadness. One day, Lex was performing for hundreds of excited fans outside. However, on this day, he noticed one lady who was not paying attention to him. She was busy smelling flowers, enjoying the small things. Lex was furious. He couldn't believe she wasn't amazed by his talent. So he started lifting three horses. But the lady did not look. He then started juggling the horses, round and round they went. And still, the lady did not look. Finally, Lex threw the horses in the air. Three horses were high in the air like three big birds, but Lex was so angry and so focused on the lady, he forgot to catch them. "BANG! BANG! BANG!" The horses came crashing down on him one by one. The Lady finally looked, but instead of being amazed, she was shocked by what had happened. After this, Lex was terribly hurt. He had to be in a wheelchair, and because of this, he lost his strength, and his Hulk-like muscles shrunk to the size of small twigs. But six months later, Lex returned to the same city and the same place to perform. Only this time, he couldn't lift three horses. He couldn't lift two or one. He could not lift any. Lex was no longer the strongest, the most muscular. And instead of cheering, the fans booed. One by one, all the fans left, except for one. Lex was sat on his wheelchair, head down and heartbroken until he heard a voice that said: "CAN I HELP?" Lex slowly looked up to see who was talking. He couldn't believe his eyes... it was The Lady. "I'VE LOST MY MUSCLES. I'VE LOST MY STRENGTH. I'VE LOST EVERYTHING!" Lex said. The Lady shook her head. "LEX, YOU'RE STRONGER THAN EVER." "HOW?" Lex asked, confused by The Lady's reply. "YOU CAME BACK AND YOU STILL TRIED TO LIFT THE HORSES. EVEN WITHOUT THE MUSCLES AND THE STRENGTH, YOU FACED EVERYONE AND TRIED YOUR HARDEST. THAT'S STRENGTH. YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY YOU TRIED, BECAUSE HAPPINESS, THAT'S THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH," The Lady replied. That day, Lex left without his old gifts. No strength. No bus. No fans. But instead, Lex left with a friend, and he left with his new gift, HAPPINESS.
Illustration courtesy of the supremely talented Kayleigh Allan (_kayleighroseallan).
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This is a really touching story! Excellent work Humza, keep it up :)