The Favorites

by Layne Fargo

We used to joke they were going to die in each other’s arms or kill each other with their bare hands. Nothing in between.

And if I worked hard enough, if I got good enough…one day I might become as invulnerable as Sheila Lin.

The thing is, when pushing your limits is all you know, when it seems normal to you…it’s hard to remember you even have limits. Until you run right into them.

His love for me hadn’t been motivation enough to reach his full potential. His hatred, though? That made him capable of anything.

Happiness couldn’t be won. It couldn’t be hung around our necks while a crowd of thousands cheered. It wasn’t a prize, something we had to suffer and toil to earn. If we wanted happiness, we had to create it ourselves. Not in one shining moment on a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again.

So say what you want about me. Call me a bitch, a cheater, a loser, a whore. I may not have an Olympic gold medal, but I have something better: a life where I spend every day with my favorite people in the world, doing exactly what I love. If that’s not winning, I don’t know what is.