It was the first
time I saw her and it was magical. Her face bloomed like a sweet flower, and
stole my heart away completely. She lay there in pink floral dress under the
bright sun, staring deep into the sky.
I don’t think
she was aware of my presence. As I walked towards her, the sound of leaves
cracking under my feet seemed to have startled her but she didn’t move. I went
over to her and said hello. She didn’t look at me, she replied softly. I smiled
and asked her whether it was alright if I lay
beside her. I waited. Receiving no response, I chose to lie beside her. I
looked straight into the sky, searching for what caught her attention. All I saw
was clear blue sky flecked with small white clouds and that was hardly amusing.
I looked harder
to find nothing, again. So, I relaxed my body and just lay there. Suddenly the sky came to life and it seemed as though I’m
watching a film in an empty theatre. I could see flashes of memories from my
early days with my parents, of my school life, my first year college.
I felt a tear
roll down my face but I didn’t stop looking.
The cracking of
leaves caught my attention and my reverie morphed into awareness. The young
girl was getting up. I’d forgotten her presence. I was so engrossed. I sprang
to my feet and was about to walk away when her placating voice compelled me to
stop. She said, “Guess you figured what I came to watch”. It almost seemed as a
question but I just nodded. She
waited a while and then said, “Let’s go have a cup of coffee”. I really needed
one.
We then walked together
to my favorite café, which she later told me was her favorite too. She asked me
what I saw and I told her. I didn’t care whether she was a stranger and whether
it was all right for me to give her such intimate details of my life.
This was how it
all started. My first conversation with her, it was all that it took for me to
realize that she was the girl I wanted to marry: the girl with whom I wanted to
grow old.
It was the best day of my life and now
Christina and I are married. It’s been fifteen years and we have three adorable
children. I would never change anything about that day.
