Part One

I had imagined our meeting over and over again inside my head. I had planned every step, every word that I would welcome him with. It had been rehearsed and perfected as not to make a single mistake. A perfect greeting for a perfect couple, I’d thought. But as I ran across the courtyard to meet him with my scripted salutations, I felt no warmth in his embrace, no kindness in his voice, no love in his icy blue orbs which pierced mine like the blade of a knife.

He held me loosely with stone cold arms, almost pushing me away from his heartless breast. The practised smiles could not melt the ice which imprisoned his features as he spoke to me in the standard language of acquaintances. Each syllable he uttered shot a poisoned arrow through the tender heart which had waited so patiently for his return.

I felt the tears of disappointment sting in my eyes as I fought to keep them from crashing down my so perfectly made up cheeks and spoiling what I had spent all morning preparing for his empty eyes to look upon.

A fool, I felt, standing before him as I desperately sought the right words to say. All I had prepared was worthless. Had he forgotten me? Had his journey brought many prettier, wealthier and worthier girls to cross his path? Such pain, such despair that I felt as these thoughts pierced my mind, could never be written in words. I could write for a thousand years and still never succeed in such a task. Oh, why could we not continue as he had promised on the night we parted?

~*~

I remember it to have been a clear night. The sky was alight with beautiful shining stars. I was out walking beneath the blanket of the twinkling heavens. I chose to rest on the seat beneath the old oak tree, surrounded by a wonderful flower garden, which, in daylight, delighted the eyes of all who were lucky enough to view it. Here, I had the perfect sight of the night sky before me. I had not been sitting long when I was startled by the sound of footsteps on the gravel path to the centre of the flower garden where I sat. I had, at first, been afraid. I remember both the feeling of relief and the fluttering sensation of either nerves or excitement, I was unsure of which, upon seeing it was he who emerged from around the corner of the laurel bush avenue.

In the darkness, I could not closely make out his features, but I knew surely who he was. I had admired him from the very second of our introduction. He was almost a foot taller than I, myself, his eyes, a sparkling blue and full of warmth, he smiled to melt the hardest of hearts and his hair flopped to frame his face so handsomely that it was nearing impossible for me to ever resist admiring him. He spoke so gently and with such a high class of civility that from the very first word, I was hypnotised.

I still remember the hot flush rising in my cheeks as he stood before me apologising for his intrusion and requesting my permission to stay awhile and gaze at the shimmering constellations above. I still feel the fluttering inside when I picture the smile he gave me when I granted him to sit.
It was such a romantic scene! Oh, what I’d give to relive those moments when his gaze met mine for a second while the fire inside would scorch the flesh of my pale cheeks to redden before modesty would bend my head to the ground as a tiny smile would fight its way to my aching lips. He would then turn his head to the heavens. He showed me how it was possible to join stars to form beasts or objects as it is possible to do with clouds during the daytime. He pointed out a rabbit, a dog and finally a rose.

He then rose from the painted, white bench and carefully selected one of the many tulips from the blooming patch. I still remember my heart pounding so hard against my chest in excitement as I watched him turn and approach me. My hands trembled in my lap as I tried to suppress the blush which burned my cheeks once more. I felt a shiver run through my whole body as he knelt before me and presented me with the flower. I wanted so much to confess my feelings of admiration to him, but the curse of shyness kept me silent, allowing only a quiet ‘thanks’ for the flower to be uttered.

My breath caught in my throat as his hand clasped mine so tenderly. My heart skipped as my eyes met his and emotion swam in the crystalline orbs before me.
“My sweet Adela” I felt my cheeks burn like they had never burned before as I heard my name slip from his lips for the very first time. I couldn’t help but smile at the embarrassed half smile he gave me as he averted his gaze for a second before returning his eyes to me.

“For so long we have been acquainted, but yet I fell we are still strangers”. So with this flower,” He took my small, wavering hand in his own larger, masculine hand and placed the flower into my palm. The touch of his skin against mine sent electric through my very core. My heart pounded so hard against my ribs that it felt as though my chest would burst. He gently closed my fingers around the slender stem of the tulip as he continued, “I promise you, that from this day forth, we will continue to become well acquainted so that, one day, my dear Adela, I will know your very thoughts before you think them, hear your words before you speak them and see you actions before you make them. So that one day we may be the closest of friends, closer even than mother and child, bound together by the special bond which only we can feel as it ties us to one another day by day as we continues on down the path the Lord had laid out before us. For I cannot live a day without a thought of you gentle face, or a longing to hear your angelic voice speak my name, to enter my mind. From the moment of our meeting, there was a spark which started a fire between us. A fire which warms even the harshest of winters, melts even the thickest of ice. I have watched you as you’ve fought to remain on the right track each day while the shadows hung over your smile and the demons haunted your dreams. I promise, my Adela, that I will always be here for you. I promise that I will forever help you to find the light when the clouds of doubt linger over you”

He paused. Tears of joy and astonishment welled up in my eyes from his confession. His face was so full of sincerity and his eyes shone with truth. It felt like heaven. I’d never felt such happiness, such bliss. For the first time in my life I felt loved, truly loved. For once there seemed to be someone who wished to help me out of the dark tunnel which I walked down, and out into the light of hope. He took my hand and helped me to my feet. We stood a few moments with our hands linked; the tulip I held slipped but did not fall as he clasped my hands in his own. I remember the sharp breath I drew when he reached forth and brushed back a loose strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ear. The fluttering in my stomach felt almost too much to bear. It was a struggle to stop myself showing this weakness and as he spoke again, the struggle worsened.

“I must go away tomorrow, and I know not the date of my return. My beautiful Adela, promise me you’ll await my homecoming. Promise me you’ll not forget the promises I’ve made to you and promise me you will not forget me” I remember the sweetness of his voice as he spoke. It was almost heavenly and each word rang with honesty, I could not resist promising him all that he asked. The sensation inside as he drew me close to him can never be expressed in words. Such emotions are both personal and indescribable. The emotions which pulsed through every vessel of my slender body forced words I had never imagined to slip so quietly and naturally from lips to his ear as he held me close.

“I love you, Alexander”

~ * ~