For this one, the topic was rejection. I have two other attempts that I will be posting right after this.

The man sat in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He was thinking about the many years before.

He'd been rejected from more times than he could count.

His heart had been broken, yet he had still put the pieces back together and started again. He'd fall in love over and over.

Now, staring at the white ceiling above, he's glad he stood up so many times after falling down.

Now, he sees all of those failures led to his success.

It was worth it, to find such a wonderful, compatible, and fitting partner.

He held his lover in his embrace and kissed her forehead.

What was that quote he'd loved as a young boy?

It went something like, 'You only get what you want after trying a million times and failing. Then, after years of gazing at your dream, you finally reach it.'

He still loved the quote now.

Although it had felt like he was in the same spot that whole time, now that he looked back, he realized that he had been getting somewhere. He was just so focused on finding his soulmate that he hadn't realized his steps.

All his failures had been but steps.

"What are you thinking about, dear?"

The man snapped out of his trance. He'd been so deep in his thoughts, he hadn't realized his lover had woken up. He looked at his lover and smiled.

"Ah, nothing but how I fell in love with you."

The woman chuckled, "You're such a charmer. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Oh, but what did he ever do to deserve her?

That day he came across her and picked up her papers that had fallen. His clumsy and kind lover, how had he ever deserved her? And how could their relationship have come out of such a simple gesture?

Such steps that he took to come here... they seemed like nothing at the time, but looking back, they were everything.

Rejection was but a step.