An amazing story my friend cassidy wrote about motivation/hope. (x-post from /r/stories)

Hope There was a man. The man was walking in a never ending dark tunnel. He saw no light at either end of the tunnel, only darkness. The man lived in everlasting heartache, heartbreak, suffering and pain. He had never known love except once, for a girl who only added to his sadness. His childhood had been hard. His parents had beat him and he spent his school years hiding from the bullies and the mockery the other children laid upon him. He wished he could be relieved of this burden, this failure of a life. The only solution he could think of was death. He’d tried many times to commit the terrible act of suicide, but every time he’d failed. ”How much of a failure do you have to be, he thought to himself, to not even be able to take your own life?” With every step he took, a small piece of his heart fell to the ground beneath him. Had anyone known such sorrow? His whole life had scarred him deeply. He took one more step and the last piece of his heart fell to the ground, lost forever... Or so he thought. That’s when he saw it, the almost microscopic light at the end of the dark, sorrowful tunnel. He began to run, his soul hopeful. He ran for what seemed like a lifetime, determined to reach his freedom. He finally made it out of the tunnel and felt joy for the first time in many many years. He looked back at the tunnel behind him to see all the distance he made and was startled to see a little girl, a wingless angel with a sheepish smile, holding his heart up to him. It was Hope, following him, picking up the pieces of his heart and stitching them back together. Hope was what brought the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, the man walks on a path through a field, bathed in sunlight and surrounded by beautiful scenery, his heart whole. He keeps Hope with him at all times to remind him that when all the pieces fall, there will always be someone behind you picking them up. Fin.