A Chance to Love
"There is no network connection here," Karen held her smartphone high up.
“Let’s walk to the other side of the shore,” Aaron kicked some sand off his feet.
“I should have never listened to you.”
“You wanted a happy time before the official breakup. I don’t understand where people come up with these weird ideas.”
“I wanted us to part ways with good memories. But, you wanted an adventurous trip.”
Karen and Aaron met in university. Both were orphans thrown into the foster care system. Their miserable childhood coaxed them to stay together. But fate had other plans for them.
Hectic work schedules had created a ridge in their relationship. Both of them were tired of working it out and wanted a time out from each other. This was their ‘break up’ trip.
But their tour turned upside down when an unexpected storm, drifted their boat far away into the deep ocean and soon they were stranded on this ill-fated island alone.
They pondered a little deeper into the mini forest in search of any clue or relief from the situation.
Karen stumbled upon a rock and fell on her face. She composed herself and stood up wiping the sand off her knees. But, they were up for a shock. Both stood still, gasped their breath in terror. A skeleton rested on the bottom of a tree trunk.
Aaron found a glass bottle in the skeleton’s hand. He snatched it and found a letter tucked inside it.
“Monsieur,
I do not know if you will find me when I am still alive or in my afterlife. But I am glad that you found me. I am a traveller and dreamer, orphaned at a very young age. I worked hard, studied well, and travelled across the globe. Then I met Adele, mon cheri. She made my life beautiful.
But, she was a hindrance to my growth, the broken step in my ladder to success. Hence, I left her. But now I am stranded here, for days. A lone soul in this paradise. My life has taken a U-turn. Its upside down and the glass of wine is soon falling empty. I wish I had listened to her, married and had a family. The almighty gave me a chance and I skipped it.
No one owns me in their thoughts. No one knows that I am alive somewhere or dying at the end of the world. No one to notice my existence.
I was born unique,
I lived a life secluded,
Now I die lonely.
-Lewis Le Beau,
France
20th December 1750.”
Aaron and Karen entwined their fingers like old times, looked deep into their eyes and froze at the moment. There was nothing left to be told, their topsy turvy careers was not a reason for their lives to turn upside down.
With tears welling in her eyes, Karen hugged Aaron tight and said, “I will be glued to you for life.”
The smart phoned beeped with the network connection.
***
Glossary:
- Monsieur: Sir in French
- Mon Cheri: ‘My darling’ in French
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