True Love

     Once upon a time, there was a disillusioned girl who fell in love with a seemingly unattainable guy; a guy she had no business falling in love with in the first place.  A guy who was always there to listen, to understand, to care… who never failed to remind her to take her meals on time and who sang for her whenever she felt sad.  A guy who was someone else’s boyfriend.  A guy who was her best friend.

     Like so many other stories about unrequieted love, she went through all the pain of knowing that despite whatever feelings she might have, what she wanted to do was not the same as what she had to do.  Choices had to be taken and sacrifices had to be made, and she embraced all the pain and loneliness with the knowledge that with her loss is someone else’s gain, and with her broken-ness… someone else’s happiness.

     In time, she healed, though it was not a completely painless process.  Friendship grew where love could not, and the heartbreak gave way to one of the most steadfast companionships.  She went through her days thinking that she had killed the hope and erased the love.  But the truth was that feelings cannot be wished or prayed away into oblivion.  And all the while, she has unknowingly built a seal around her heart; her hope chained and her love locked… but neither was lost.

     She has let him go.  But fate seemed to have a different idea for both of them.  The past unraveled, leaving them raw and vulnerable… and in pain.  She felt powerless in the face of his despair… and later on, defenseless when he professed his love for her.  She felt all the barriers she had painstakingly built crumbling bit by bit, falling to pieces at her feet.  And she couldn’t stop it.  And perhaps, in hindsight, it was that she wouldn’t as much as she couldn’t.  And despite her confusion and fear, her hope was again allowed to soar… and along with it, her love.

-oOo-

     How does this love story end?  I’d like to think that for these two people, for James and Raine, there would be endings. Only countless new beginnings.  Suffice it to say that what they thought was lost to them was given back a thousandfold.  And they learned that God’s choice and God’s time conspire to bring forth a magnificent story… their story.

    And they have learned that even through the pain, true love waits.  Even through all the challenges, true love endures.  Even through all the trials, true love survives.  And even through everything that try to break it, true love triumphs.

-oOo-

     It has been eleven months, James.  And while the road has not been perfect, our love has seen us through.  Thank you for everything.  I love you infinitely.

     Happy eleventh month milestone, my angel.  Happy Valentines Day too!~