The Dispute

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Oh I’m positive!”

“You know, you’re looking pretty foolish right now…”

“Maybe, but it won’t change how I feel…”

“Then I guess we have no choice.” The man in gray shorts says as he laces up his gloves. The two men enter the ring and the crowd goes wild. Half rooting for the man in the gray shorts while the other rooting for the man in red. Muscle upon muscle each fighter is primed to purpose and ready to let their fists speak for them. Each man takes their corner and it’s the battle of the century as these two are set to clash. ”You remember what happened last time right?” The man in the red shorts yells across the ring. “Yea! I’ve learned a lot since then!” The man in gray yells back. The two men look poised and ready to strike each other down. The tension in the stadium is thick, the lights are set, and the crowd is clamoring for a bloodbath!

The two men lock eyes in a death stare as the ref goes over the rules. Each fighting for a grudge as old as time itself. This is the umpteenth battle between the two and it never gets any less exciting. The young men slam their gloves together and it shakes the ring beneath their feet. The crowd leaps from their seats as the two retreat to their corner and anxiously await the bell to start round one. Everyone holds their breath in anticipation. It’s so quiet you can hear a mouse piss on cotton.

There’s the bell and the two men fire out from their corners. They waste no time sizing each other up with Gray launching a few jabs to the chin, but Red is largely unphased. They dance around one another a bit and Red fires off with a right hook that doesn’t connect at all and sends him sailing into the ropes. Gray seizes the opportunity and wails on him with a right to the rib cage and a left to the jaw. And down goes Red! Brought down to a knee by a vicious combo by Gray. Dazed and confused Red rises to his feet at the 5th count and the ref clears him to continue. “You should have stayed down.” Gray says taunting his opponent. “Ha, I might break but I’ll never stop.” the man in red retorts.

Gray doesn’t let up the momentum and comes right back with a left to the body. But Red’s not outta this fight yet! He finally lands a punch to the nose and Gray has got to be feeling it. He is a bloody mess, and grabs on to Red to regain his composure. Both fighters take a small breather but the ref quickly breaks it up and allows the fight to continue. A rejuvenated Gray lands a mean right hook and Red’s cut above the right eye. This is not looking good and the Red fans know it!

The bell sounds and that marks the end of round one. But wait Red runs across the ring and sucker punches Gray. Down goes Gray! The ref frantically tries to stop this crazed fighter but Red turns his gloves to the referee!

“It would be like you to pull a stunt like this and break the rules.” Gray says as he stands to his feet.

“All is fair in love and war… and this is a bit of both.” Red says with a small chuckle as he wipes the blood from his eye.

It’s pure pandemonium as both fighters continue to engage ignoring the rules and etiquette of the match. “Kick his ass Red!” Someone yells from the crowd. “He’s crazy but you got this Gray!” Yells another. The two fighters lock eyes and charge one another. Gray hands out a right to the rib cage and the sound of bones cracking echoes in the ring. Red is hardly phased and returns with an uppercut. Gray spits out two teeth but looks even more determined to win this!

“You’re ignoring all the red flags!” Gray yells as he dances around the ring. “This time is different!” Red screams while throwing a right punch. “It’s never different! We do this shit all the time!” Gray lunges and pins Red up against the ropes. Gray unleashes a series of blow after blow. Red does his best to block what he can but his body is taking a beating. Battered, bruised and bloody, Red is barely hanging on. Gray scores a right to the jaw and Red goes down. But Gray is not letting up, he continues to swing on a defenseless man. Red hangs on for dear life curled in the fetal position. “You NEVER listen! I’m sick and tired of doing this with you!” Gray screams as each punch sprays blood across the ring from his opponent.

“This time…is different…” Red’s words fall from a broken swollen face but still have the power to stir something within. Gray is pushed to the ground and Red quickly gains his footing. “Why won’t you ever listen to me!” Gray barks. His eyes are red from anger. His rage is visibly on his face and determination courses through his veins. “This time…is diff-” Red answers. Gray shifts the ring beneath his wake, charging full speed at an opponent all but defeated yet holding on by a thread. Gray reaches back to fire off a slew of combination punches but Red will have none of it. He does a quick shuffle side step and a right uppercut to the jaw and Gray goes down hard. The ref quickly slides into the ring to start the count. One. Two. Three. Four. The two men lock eyes for the final time. At this moment they both realize they will never see eye to eye. Both half dead yet neither willing to let go of their truths. Gray knows this fight will never end. He logically spits out his mouth piece and allows the ref to complete the ten count. The crowd ignites as the ref lifts Red’s arm into the air and declares him the winner! The victorious man lifts the man in gray from the floor and embraces his bloody body in his arms. “This time will be different.” He says. “It’s never any different…” The defeated responds. And with that the battle between Heart and Mind is over. Heart with a surprising upset victory over Mind as we throw logic to the wind and lead with our emotions.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Mind says with a smile.

“This time is-”

“Yea, yea, yea. I’ll see you at the rematch…”

-End