| Overcome
�Dear Good Charlotte, My name�s Beth, I�m 21 years old. You guys are my favourite band of all time. I first heard you on the Internet a few years back and I fell in love with your music right away. I�d really love to see you play live, but I can�t. I�ve tried ever so hard to go outside, but I just can�t do it. My heart starts beating really fast, I get really nervous and I feel sick. You see, I have agoraphobia. I hate it; it scares me so much. I can�t even go near the front door. But I really do want to see you play live. I don�t know what to do. Please, you�ve got to help me; I can�t go on like this. Loads of love, Beth xxxxx� That was the first email Beth had ever written to Good Charlotte. She couldn�t write a letter, because she couldn�t go outside to post it. Every time she even went near a window she had a panic attack. The weeks passed, and still no reply arrived in her inbox. Beth really didn�t want to hold on anymore. Then one day, there it was� �Dear Beth, Sorry it�s taken so long to reply, but as you can imagine, we get thousands of letters and emails every day. We like to read and reply to them all, even if it takes forever. It must be really tough for you. None of us can even begin to imagine what it would be like to not be able to go outside. Well, we don�t want you to miss out, so here�s what we�re gonna do� We�re gonna come play live at your house, if that�s ok with you. But, only on one condition. You have to come for a walk with us before we play. What d�ya say? Have we got a deal? Write back and tell us soon. Take care. Love from Benji, Joel, Billy, Paul and Chris� Beth couldn�t believe her eyes, Good Charlotte in her house! But she had to go outside first; this was going to be the biggest challenge of her life. She replied to tell the guys she was going to go for it. A week or so later there was a knock at the door. Beth shakily walked to the door. She opened the latch and ran back into the front room quicker than if she�d been struck by lightning. �It�s Good Charlotte, are you gonna come out and say hi to us?� said a voice from the front door. �I can�t� said Beth in a weak, broken voice. �Oh, well then I guess we�ll just have to go back home then. Come on guys, let�s go.� Said the voice from outside. �No wait!� said Beth, feeling a bit stronger now. She approached the door cautiously. The Good Charlotte guys were silhouetted in the doorway by the light from the outdoors. Benji held out his hand towards her, or was it Joel? She couldn�t tell because the panic attacks were kicking in, her vision was distorted. She felt the warm hand clutch her hand tightly. She slowly walked towards the guys, closing her eyes as she stepped out on to the doorstep. �Hey, well done! You�re outside.� Said one of the guys, she guessed it was Billy. Her eyes eased open slightly; she saw the blue sky above her. She got scared. She wanted to run back inside, but whoever had hold of her hand wouldn�t let her, so she ran into his arms instead. She leaned her head on his shoulder and burst into tears. �I can�t do it.� she said, the tears making her voice sound wobbly. �Yeah you can.� Said all the guys at once. �I can�t! Why are you being so cruel to me? I wish you�d never come here!� Shouted Beth violently. Then she sank to the floor with her head in her hands. �I�m sorry, I�m so sorry. I didn�t mean that.� �Yeah, we know. You�re just afraid.� �Yeah, and that�s why we�re here, �cause you asked us to help you.� Beth climbed to her feet and managed to open her eyes. She grabbed Paul�s hand because he was closest to her. Then Chris held her other hand. �You�re safe with us.� Said Benji. �Now let�s go for this walk.� Said Joel. �Thankyou.� Whispered Beth, �Thankyou so much.� |