A tale of two porcupines.

Once upon a time, there were two porcupines Billy and Mabel. They loved each other very much, but they had problems because their spikes always poked each other when they tried to caress. (Well, you know, some porcupines find lovers whose spikes are not long enough to poke at each other, but unfortunately these two didn't.) One day, the male porcupine Billy cast eyes at another female porcupine, Lucy, and in the process, obviously angered his companion, Mabel.

Furthermore, Billy's mother loved her son so much and felt sad that her son was hurt by the spikes of Mabel. Thus, she told her son that he should stop seeing Mabel. She did not hate Mabel, but just felt that Billy should follow in her (and dad's footsteps), and find a porcupine with spikes who would not poke him so much. The companion felt that the mum was being unfair and blamed her, saying that she should not try to keep the two lovers apart.

Meanwhile, the male porcupine tried to change for his companion not only promising not to cast eyes at another porcupine again, but to the extent of even going to blunt the edge of his spikes so that he wouldn't hurt her so much when they hugged. The female porcupine still bore a grudge about the Lucy incident, and about what Billy's mother had said, but thankfully, she was a forgiving porcupine and realised that Billy was a sincere porcupine who loved her, so hey, why not let bygones be bygones? After all, what was the point of dwelling on the past when a brighter future beckoned.

The two porcupines eventually got used to each other's spikes (through a mixture of partly blunting them, and also just being more tolerant of the pain). They put the past behind them and lived happily for themselves and their future. They discovered true love.

Hey, in the end, they even found the poking of each other's spikes a comfort, reminding them of the other's presence =)

Moral of story:
Forgiveness is tiring and difficult, but with forgiveness comes love.
Things can change over time, but only if you let them change. Even something as enduring as one's character can be changed with sincerity and encouragement.
Understanding comes with time, and effort, but it will come.
No point dwelling on a miserable past when it's only going to stop you moving forward, by filling you with bitterness.
Even when everyone is tired of the fighting, if you really try your hardest to move on and forgive the past, you will succeed.
Eventually, after everything, you are left with two partners who are secure and trusting in one another, and can depend on each other for anything.

Now ask yourself: what would have happened if Mabel continued to bear a grudge against Billy for the Lucy incident, and for what his mum had said. Then, nothing Billy did would have helped save the situation.