A banana will never become an apple, no matter how hard you try, it is simply not in the nature of the banana to change. Even if the banana were willing to shed its glorious yellow skin and become a short, fat, red apple, it will never happen, and there is nothing the poor fruit can do about it. Stop asking.

This an extended metaphor (probably extended to the point of paper thin flimsiness) for a situation I recently found myself in. I have a friend, who for the sake of blogging we'll name Drew, who somehow got it into his head that I was willing to leave my beloved for him. I haven't the slightest clue what gave him this impression, nor do I particularly want to know, but it was something that became, very quickly, irreversible in his mind. He convinced himself so thoroughly that he had the truth in his grasp, that even my telling him he was incorrect in his thinking did me no good. He invited himself to my home this past Sunday, the day my boyfriend was coming to visit, and promptly explained that I was to choose that day who I wanted to be with. I could only stare at him in disbelief; surely he couldn't be serious. I found out all too soon just how serious he was.

To sum up the events of the day in short order; Drew became livid and irate when I refused to even consider him. I had been telling him over the phone for days that while he was a great guy and a wonderful friend, that was all he'd ever be, that nothing short of a nuclear meltdown inside my body would make me leave the love of my life. He then lied to my cousin, who was present for the entire ordeal. He told her that the previous week I had kissed him when we had gone over into town and hung out for a few hours. This untruth cut me deeply; people have been lying about me my entire life, but I never expected it from him, I expected better. I couldn't believe he would stoop to such treachery. All this trouble because he couldn't understand that no means no. I was so angry I couldn't speak, and certainly not to him and our friendship has ended as a result of it.

My question is this; why, when told repeatedly that something is not possible, would you continue to try? Especially when you know that you are going to hurt someone you care about in the process. Why not just be happy for them, and take comfort in the fact that they are satisfied with what they have? Is there really a need to interfere to such a degree that you hurt the very person you are trying to care about? I wish I knew what he was thinking, because then maybe I could understand what it was he thought he was going to accomplish by ignoring my feelings and wishes. I really don't get it; what's so difficult to understand about the word no? No means no.