Daily, there was the pain.
Nightly, there was the agony.
Hourly, there was nothing to stop it.
By the minute, it throbbed.
Every second, reminded of the past.

Inescapable, it lingered. Running didn't help. Sure, he got away from it for a while, but he always tired out, and when it caught up, it smothered him. It pounded his heart, pummeled his soul, and wrenched his very being.

So he trudged through life, staring at his feet, afraid to look them in the eyes, for they could see his dark past in them, the pain searing him, all there. He wanted to find someone who could look past that, and see that he was different now. The ages of pain had shaped him. But he refused to look up.

The darkness of his world was shattered one day. She was like a Goddess to him. Flawless beauty compounded by her warm, accepting heart. She helped him to see the beauty in himself. The long hours they spent talking, discussing, he would never forget those.

Then one morning he woke up happy. The clouds were gone. He could walk with his head held high. Rushing to find her, he couldn't help but feel the joy in his heart. It leapt with every thought of his life.

But she was nowhere to be found. Frantically, he called her name, ignoring the looks from passersby. Tears rolled down his face as he ran through his world, seeking the only one he could talk to.

Then it hit him. She was an angel, sent from God himself. She had helped him to see the beauty in himself, and to tell him that God had forgiven his sins. She had made him a new person.

Tears still in his eyes, he took off down the path of his life again. There was a notable spring in his step as he nodded to those around him.
Never again would he give up, and never would he dig himself in so deep.