The Lonely

      Emotion can be a beautiful and terrible thing. Unfortunately, the terrible side seems to prevail. There are so many emotions that can hurt you, grief, confusion, pain, and embarrassment to name a few.  But in my opinion the feeling of loneliness is the absolute worst. Going through grief is easier with a shoulder to cry on, confusion with someone to help point the way, someone to numb your pain, and someone to turn your embarrassing moment into a funny one. But what happens if you're alone? Ask Ty MacFarlane, who's been living alone in the middle of a desert for months. Completely surrounded by nothingness. Not even he, who considers himself a real lover of the land, can stand the loneliness for too long.  That's where Gemma comes in, another victim of the lonely.

     Tyler MacFarlane, or just Ty for short, takes the term "living off the land" to heart. He finds the desert so incredible, that he wants to live there: alone. His typical day consists of walks in the heat, working out with his punching bag, gathering food, and observing the land. All alone. Even at night, when the desert gets scary and the wind begins to howl, he sleeps alone. Not only is Ty alone physically, but mentally as well. Family has never been a big concept in Ty's life. His childhood seems to be one of those typical sob stories that you see everywhere these days, his dad left when he was very young, and his mother became addicted to substances and was therefore deemed incapable of taking care of him. Life at the orphanage quickly became the norm for Ty. A norm where nobody paid him any special attention, or saw him as their own. He now needs to fulfill this empty companionless void that has become his life. And he chooses to do this with Gemma.

     Gemma has always been a loner in a way herself. Within her group of friends, she seems to be the odd one out. While the rest of them would prefer to get wasted in the local park, she'd rather be reading or writing. Not that she'd ever tell them that though. They'd make fun of her! So she remains quietly different from them, a mind that is sharp, among a clan of dull ones. Her family situation isn't much better. Money, success in the office, and respect among peers rank above Gemma on her parents' list of priorities in life, and being an only child she doesn't exactly have a sibling to turn to. The loneliness doesn't truly hit her until she's alone in her room, curled up with her book.  Maybe she could use Ty's help, just not in the way he envisioned it.

     Another couple that is racked by loneliness on both sides, is the "Twilight Saga's" Bella and Edward. Being a vampire, Edward doesn't age and has been alive about 100 years. Somehow in that span of time he has never fallen in love, amidst his entire adopted family, who are all together and enjoy flaunting it. Bella resembles Gemma in a way, because like her she doesn't seem to connect with anyone around her. Bella's mom describes her as "a middle aged child," always thinking and acting responsibly. In the world of high school, it's hard to find another person who thinks that way. When she moves to Forks Washington with her father, the loneliness only gets worse. Her father is not exactly a verbose person, and seems to be pretty hard to reach. Luckily these two found each other, and they're no longer victims of this degrading emotion.

     To say the least, loneliness is hard. Imagine that feeling of having absolutely nobody to turn to. That feeling of taking on your life alone. Ty and Gemma may not have had a perfect Bella and Edward ending to their story…or an even remotely similar beginning or middle. But at least for a time they had each other.