Authentic Love
The kind That Lasts a Lifetime and Beyond
This story has been sitting on my laptop for quite some time now. Every time I thought of setting it free, something always seemed missing. You know that feeling at the back of your mind — a hunch.
This February hasn’t been so easy on my health. And last night, when I was quietly observing my husband, fixing a humidifier, so I could have a peaceful sleep, it felt just right. Right, to finally work on this story and share it with the world — let it float in the ocean of gazillion other tales, each unique in their own ways.
Now that it is out there, I can only hope that I was able to do justice with this small tale of two high school sweethearts.
Husband and Wife
The day was winding down, and the stars had come out. The lady of the house finally stepped out onto the balcony. Her husband was already perched on a patio swing, staring at his MacBook through his rimless glasses.
Kids were both asleep following dinner, homework, change of clothes, and story-time. One day successfully conquered, she thought. She was worried though for a brand new day tomorrow. She had her much-awaited office presentation — a high-profile client was expecting bells and whistles.
“I said, I love you…” The husband gently tapped onto his wife’s shoulder.
She looked at him as if she heard it for the first time where infect her husband had said that a couple of times before he tapped.
She blinked. “I know…”
“Is that all?”
Rather than answering, back of her mind, she wondered about setting her alarm clock.
“You know, I think you love me… little.” The husband whined. “No more of that high school type spark…”
She softly tilted her head on to the side and gazed at him. The silence stretched between them, in which the wife visualized her life in a flashback.
They had found each other in high school. At such a young age, they knew they were meant to be together. After finishing their studies, they quickly got married, found careers, home, and had kids — the usual. Now, after a decade, they were there in that apartment they bought together — A home they built with feelings and emotions.
After a minute or so, the husband sighed and stood up. With his MacBook, he began to stroll back inside the apartment.
Years have passed. We are no longer in high school. The wife thought while staring at her husband’s departing figure. Two pregnancies have changed the way I look — stretch marks, faint dark circles, and a few extra pounds. And…yes, the back pain, it’s getting worse. Finding gray hair in my long locks isn’t so difficult anymore.
Beyond all, I have started a new chapter in my life as a young woman, a wife, a mother, and an entrepreneur, she mused.
After all the life we have seen together, after all that I have gone through — we have gone through — all he had to say was that I loved him little?!
Wistfully she peered at the stars blinking in the sky.
How is it fair?
After what seemed like a long time, the husband stepped back on the balcony — this time with two teacups and smile of a saint on his face.
What changed!
He handed her one teacup as he sat rather close to her. Suspiciously, she raised an eyebrow as she took the cup. She sniffed warm tea but stayed silent.
The husband wrapped his one arm around her while staring at the same stars she did now. “You know what?” He announced. “I am sorry…”
Through the corner of her eyes, she gazed at him, puzzled. She noticed a hint of remorse on his face.
He sighed. “Well, if I thought that you loved me little, maybe it’s time I loved you more. For the both of us.”
She finally gave out a soft smile, the kind that touched her eyes.
He continued, “I think I should help you more with the kids. I have been slacking lately, and you haven’t complained.” He frowned. “So…I took it for granted.” He shrugged.
Now she looked right at him, wondering.
“You know what? You have that presentation tomorrow.” As he mentioned, quietly, she sipped in some tea and tried hard to hide her amazement that he remembered. He went on. “I will drop both the kids to school tomorrow.”
He sipped in his tea now. After a few minutes, observing his wife’s long locks, he said, “And…you have stopped getting Hena done in your hair; you used to love it!” He snapped his fingers as if he found a solution to a long-unsolved riddle. “This weekend!” He announced. “You get your hair done, Daddy’s turn to babysit. You know, every Saturday morning, Mommy will get breakfast in bed. So…she gets some rest!” It sounded more like a promise to himself.
The wife finally burst out into laughter, her earlier sorrow forgotten and replaced by a heartfelt joy. In between her laugh, she asked, “Did you swallow a ghost of my high school sweetheart or what?”
The husband laughed along with her, slightly embarrassed, though.
She shook her head. “I love you, too.” A second later, she gave him a peck on his cheek. “I think that should have been my response, earlier.”
“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have pulled in your high-school sweetheart’s ghost in your old aged husband’s body!” He gently tapped her forehead with his while they both smiled.
Hand in hand, that starry night, they stared at the stars in silence for the longest time.
I guess, love is not something that happens once, but like a stream, it flows. Life sure does evolve with every passing moment, and so does love.
Authentic love, in my opinion, is not only the racing heartbeats and pulsing blood at a young age — not denying the charm of it — but love is also warm hugs and unspoken communications when life rolls forward in its mechanical rhythm.
The husband and wife in our story found love at various phases in their life, and when one felt that life was taking over, quickly, the other realized.
After such a realization, he didn’t quietly just sat there and let life rule over. No! He spontaneously took action. He apologized, he reached out, he offered help and managed to rekindle the spark that lead a beautiful journey they had been sharing — journey full of real life, a journey full of tiny authentic moments woven into a warm fuzzy blanket of life.
Why does someone fall in love with someone? We still haven’t solved that riddle.
Though there are billions of people on this tiny planet, a heart almost always finds a companion — that other half of the whole.
Maybe love is not only anniversaries but also being there with your love in a cold hospital room, holding hands, and staying strong for each other when the going gets tough.
Love is not only valentine’s days but also the days of unplanned roses in an attempt to bring a cheerful smile on your partner’s face when they feel falling behind.
Perhaps authentic love is to live a lifetime with that special someone through thick and thin of life, love for both parts when one is succumbed into mechanics of mundanity.
Maybe it’s about living those delightful moments such as pouring a cup of coffee for one another or walking hand in hand under the moonlight or simply sitting side by side and cherish soulful quiet moments. Perhaps it is these seemingly ordinary moments spent with your special someone — your other half of the whole — eventually molds into an extraordinary lifetime.
Love, in my opinion, is life’s small meaningful moments woven into one beautiful symphony.
