"Hey", he says, a handsome smile on his face.  His eyes twinkle and make my heart flutter.

"Hey," I reply, sipping my drink.  I glance at my friends a few meters away; they were having fun and, now, so was I.

"Let's go to my place?" he asks, his voice light with barely contained laughter, "I'll show you my pet squirrel, Kitty."

"You have a squirrel?" I ask, giggling, "And you named her Kitty?"  He is handsome, and definitely flirting with me.

"He," he corrects with a shake of a finger, "His name is Kitty.  What do you say?"  He nods towards the door, his lips drawn in a quirky grin.

No one has ever picked me up that way before.  It is funny and romantic, the way he takes my hand.  I want to meet Kitty because who owns a squirrel?  But... going to a stranger's place?  Be careful, my gut is telling me.  My mind, though... Take a chance!  With a quick text to my friends ("I'm heading out with a guy... he's going to show me his squirrel!"), I follow him out.

We arrive at his place and, from his open door, comes bounding towards us an adorable squirrel!  Kitty climbs his leg quickly and settles on his shoulders with a soft shiver.  With a quick look at me, the tiny squirrel sniffs my finger and gives a small sigh of approval.

A year later, Kitty is a part of the audience to our wedding.  

And the text I sent?

It became our very own wedding running joke for the next 50 years.

Hey", he says, a handsome smile on his face.  His eyes twinkle and make my heart flutter.

"Hey," I reply, sipping my drink.  I glance at my friends a few meters away; they were having fun and, now, so was I.

"Let's go to my place?" he asks, his voice light with barely contained laughter, "I'll show you my pet squirrel, Kitty."

"You have a squirrel?" I ask, giggling, "And you named her Kitty?"  He is handsome, and definitely flirting with me.

"He," he corrects with a shake of a finger, "His name is Kitty.  What do you say?"  He nods towards the door, his lips drawn in a quirky grin.

No one has ever picked me up that way before.  It is funny and romantic, the way he takes my hand.  I want to meet Kitty because who owns a squirrel?  But... going to a stranger's place?  Be careful, my gut is telling me.  My mind, though... Take a chance!  With a quick text to my friends ("I'm heading out with a guy... he's going to show me his squirrel!"), I follow him out.

We arrived at his place.  He goes inside first and all the lights.  I step inside, keeping my eyes peeled for a tiny squirrel named Kitty.  

Except Kitty didn't exist.  I realize it quickly as the door closes behind me and the lights go off.  A pain hits me at my temple and I can't remember what happens next.

When I wake up, I feel cold, pain, and terror.  I don't know where I am... and I don't know if I will survive.  The next few hours are swallowed in suffering and screaming.  Just when it all feels like it's over, I feel a knife to my throat.  I feel it slide across my skin and cut open my arteries.

And that text I sent?

Who knows.

So just something that crossed my mind when I was watching one of those "15 stories that will restore your faith in humanity" videos on Youtube.  A woman is picked up by a guy who promises to show her his raccoon... they end up dating for over a year.  Romantic right?  That seems to be how a lot of movies and books begin.  The hero/heroine takes a chance... a leap of faith in something they normally wouldn't and it works out for them because they stepped outside of their comfort zone.  They live a life of happily ever after with a romantic story to pass on to their kids and grandkids.

Except we all know too often that's not what always happens.  While it's romantic to tell your kids you met their dad through the promise of a raccoon or squirrel, you run the risk of never having kids to tell anything to because... well, you might have just followed a killer back to his place.

I guess the confict I try to portray here is what someone should do when faced with a choice.  Should you follow your heart and take a chance, a leap of faith?  Or should you trust your logic and gut instincts?  If you take a chance, it could turn out wrong... or incredibly right.  If you trust your gut and logic, you might miss out on life... or possibly save your own.

There's no one answer to every situation... but there is your choice and your consequence.