Of all the loves of my life, one shines through. My life was turned upside down and indeed, I'm where I am today because of the experience.
It wasn't to be, it probably never was to be but it happened and it freed my mind and broke down the pretty awful place I was in back then. It's eleven years ago now, about this time of year and we had an intense yet brief time. I don't want to say too much about that except how it made me feel. For once in my life I was able to shake off all the crazy stuff in my head and just enjoy life. Walking through the golden corn fields near my house a little later on in the year it was as if I was connected to the fields of gold (cue Sting song LOL).
I walked through the woods and around the country park a lot, through the fields, through the tunnel of trees, past the church, had coffee at the local cafe and a cheeky beer or two at the village pub. It seemed that the sun was always out and when we met, the magic was amazing. Just thinking about it now tingles my senses and I get quite emotional remembering those precious moments we had together. The intensity of those moments was amazing.
But it wasn't to be and within 5 months it was all over and the pain was awful. It didn't help that I'd decided to leave my wife and start divorce proceedings and yet that wasn't a result of one thing it had been on the cards for years but I just hadn't done anything about it.
I randomly saw a post yesterday with her in it, looking exactly as I remember her. She had a way of looking directly at the camera as if only looking at me. My heart raced and I flashed back to our times at the "secret garden" and the lakes, the country park, the country pub we met in and the messages and phone calls and the amazing time we had.
I think she is happy and I content myself that having met this amazing woman, having spent just a short time with her, loved her unconditionally and shared more of myself than anyone else has experienced, that she will continue to do so. That she will continue her journey free and full of life. I'd like to think that she thinks about me once in a while. I think about her quite often when I reflect on how lucky I was to meet her, share a little time with her but it is her humanity and goodness that I love more than anything. She has the most engaging smile, she has a keen sense of humour but behind those wonderful eyes (you have to see them as to me they twinkle) is someone who you can feel being in the presence of, who cares deeply and who loves life and everyone in it.
I really miss her and I often wonder whether those romantic dreams of country living and carefree wind blown seaside walks would ever have come about?