A Reminder of Hope

February 29^th, the day that only occurs every four years. It almost sounds like

something from a fantasy novel. The fellowship of heroes discovers a secret document detailing the one day of the year that the Dark Lord is weakest.

Such a lot riding on that one simple day. Kind of like how The Lord of the Ringsrides all on one insignificant little hobbit. Everyone who believed in Frodo had to have a crazy, insane amount of hope that he would somehow beat the odds and destroy the Ring.That’s a theme of a lot of epic/high fantasy, isn’t it? The hero, who is small or insignificant compared to the great lurking evil. He sets out on a quest that inevitably makes him stronger in some way, but anyone in their right mind sees that he’s still no match for the Bad Guy. Yet somehow, because he or his friends never give up, evil is defeated in about 400 pages, and they

triumphantly march home to be lauded.

Or, sometimes not. Sometimes the book ends on a bittersweet note, with the characters recognizing that the evil will be back and they/their descendants will have to continue the fight. Or they realize the exact toll the fight took on them/their family/their friends.

I like books that end with hope. Most often, I like the ones that end on a bittersweet tone. Even if it’s fantasy, that’s true to life. Those books remind me that even when I’m feeling horrible, even if it feels like nothing in the world is
Hmmm. D’ya think I need therapy for that? ;)going right, there’s still a reason to hope. Evil will eventually be destroyed. I think that we need frequent reminders of that. I know I need frequent reminders of that—even when nothing is going horribly wrong. Because, if you’re like me, you don’t listen to people very well. But when you read an awesome book about very cool, sword-toting heroes (and hopefully a few dragons!) who defeat evil because they had hope, you sit up and take notice.

Anyway. Back to tying this in with it being a leap year and all.

February 29^th isn’t a holiday. It’s really nothing super special, unless you have this weird, cockeyed way of looking at the world like I do. But today, because it reminds me of so many fantasy scenarios, I’m going to sit back and remember why I have hope. I might even make this a tradition every year.

Want to join me?