Once upon a time … there was a 19-year-old girl.

One Friday, she decided to go to her local mall with her best friend.

She didn’t know why, but there was something inside this girl that told her she had to get to the mall as quickly as possible.

Again, she wasn’t sure why she had to go right then and there. She just knew.

Speeding quickly and parking abruptly in a space she typically didn’t park, she began hurrying through the lot, not sure as to why she was rushing.

And still, something inside her said to hurry.

It was then she noticed a boy she had never met. She thought he was absolutely beautiful. But he was leaving, walking the opposite direction with his friends.

The girl went inside. Soon, she noticed the boy from the parking lot was there, too. He hadn’t left after all.

Of course, this was where many of the teenagers hung out on weekends, so she thought nothing of it.

And still, she felt something she had never felt before.

Although she cannot recall every detail, she does remember how the boy eventually asked for the girl’s number.

She remembers how she wondered if he would ever really call.

He called.

She fell in love.

Once upon a time … there was a girl.

This girl eventually fell in love with the most amazing boy she had ever met.

The only problem was she loved him too hard, too fast.

Although they were together only a short time, eight months perhaps … she would remember him for always.

She would remember him because he had given her perhaps the greatest gift in life … a son of her very own.

It’s been 33 years since she has spoken to that boy.

And although she should hate him for the way that he treated her, for the way he didn’t love her back, for the way he abandoned her when she needed him the most, she can’t.

She doesn’t hate him for the simple fact her entire world came from a piece of that boy.

Once upon a time … there was a girl.

A girl who was working a job, just going about her business, when she met a boy.

A boy she immediately wanted to be with. But learning from past mistakes, she decided she should marry him right away, not waiting for him to walk away, too.

The girl believed if she could get this boy to commit quickly, then perhaps he wouldn’t leave her life the way others had.

But her mistake was not getting to know the boy at all.

For that boy was not who she initially believed him to be.

He was abusive, had addiction problems and eventually became someone else entirely.

He was someone who stole in order to deal with his habits.

And although she should hate him for the way that he treated her, for the way he didn’t love her the way she needed to be loved, for the way he had abandoned her when she needed him the most, she can’t.

She doesn’t hate him for the simple fact her entire world came from a piece of that boy.

A boy who had given her two sons. Two of the greatest blessings her life has ever known.

Yes, once upon a time … there was a girl.

A girl who had three boys. Sons who were the center of her life. For they were the reason she got out of bed every morning. They were the reason she worked five jobs without fail, without complaint. They were the reason she smiled. They were the reason that girl had many years of happiness, many years of joy and contentment, many years of laughter.

They were also the reason for many years of nervousness, anxiousness, sleepless nights, endless elation, total completeness.

Even after all these years, whenever she is fortunate enough to have all three of her children in the same room, at the same time, which happens very seldom, it is still the most beautiful moment in that girl’s life, each and every time, despite how she got to this point.

And on Wednesday and Thursday, that girl was fortunate enough to have her boys together once again.

Despite all of the heartache, the losses, the abuse; despite all of the tears, the struggles; despite realizing there are no happily-ever-afters when it comes to boys; despite all of it and how she got here — to this point — whenever those boys are in her presence, she knows more love than a person deserves to know. And all of those “despites” were worth it.

Still, from time to time, I think about the fact that all of this happened because I had to get to the mall on that Friday night … once upon a time.

(Stenger is the community editor for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. She can be contacted at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com.)