If you read this story once, you will think it is a story about a man and a woman, a girl and a boy: two people alone in this big world. If you read it twice, maybe it will reach your heart, dive in a little bit deeper. Maybe you will understand the meaning of every simple, little story, including this one.
It is the time…
Every creature in Benitses sensed the night approaching. The sun buried itself under the cover of darkness as the stars emerged, casting a faint white light over the village.
The girl started down the steps, toward the shore. Her shoes dangled from her fingertips as she stepped onto the warm sand, barefoot. She neared closer to the water, already imagining how warm it will be. Her toes dipped into the sea, and she smiled. She was not mistaken; the water was warm. Her heart was as calm as the sea that offered itself to her, welcoming her like an old friend. She took a deep breath, and her whole body relaxed. Like the universe that emerged above her, she was limitless.
The girl lowered herself onto the sand and she propped her head up just slightly under her arms. The softest smile on her face, she gazed up at the vast expanse above her. There were no disheartening thoughts, no nagging concerns… Finally, she thought. Finally, her head was clear and her heart was free. There was nothing else she could possibly dream of but this – there, lying under the evening sky. She began to cry. These tears were not tears of sadness. They were, instead, tears shed for a beautiful moment: one brief, but meaningful moment.
A stranger
Pebbles cracked underfoot somewhere behind her; somebody else was close by and approaching the water just as she had. She did not even turn her head, sure it was a stranger passing by. She did not want to move, to put an end to the moment she loved so much. Then the stranger just… laid down right next to her. Surprisingly, she smiled. Even though it was strange, it felt exciting and adventurous. She finally spared the figure a glance. It was a man, but she couldn’t see his face in the darkness; he was staring up at the sky too. What seemed like ages passed before he spoke.
“Why can’t this last forever?”
That one familiar forgotten feeling
She knew this voice. It was smooth deep and familiar. Her smile stretched into a grin. She was happy he was there, that this wasn’t a stranger at all. She closed her eyes and relished the airy feeling that sat in her chest.
“Time stops here,” she whispered to him. “This can last forever if you want it to.”
And that was the truth. This moment was magical. Time ceased to exist.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
He took her hand in his own and she was flooded with nostalgia. Her heart dropped into her stomach and butterflies fluttered in her chest. She had only felt this once in her life, a long time ago, with the man that now laid beside her. It was so long ago that they had met, when she was still very young, when she believed in The One, in a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. She could not believe he was here.
The girl focused on the man’s face. She remembered him differently; he had facial hair now, and his features were harder, older, but still just as soft. She remembered her first trip to Benitses, when he showed her the island, the village he grew up in. She remembered the day he took her to the little lighthouse in Corfu Town. She remembered how he kissed her there, how he held her waist in his hands. He was the one who made her fly. He was the only person who ever made her feel as limitless as she felt then, lying on the coast, watching the stars. Now they were here together again, in the place where their story began.
She knew that this was the place where their story would end, too.
I will always find my way back to you
The girl smiled brighter and tears started to roll down her cheeks. Her heart thumped against her ribcage. Looking at him, she realized something: love comes to people after they find themselves. People have to find their own way first. If love is meant to be between two people, they will find always find each other, but when they are both ready.
The man moved closer to her and he pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and melted into the warmth of him. Her lips were salty with tears, but it did not matter. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to her. After all this time, he still kissed her just the same, still made butterflies erupt in her belly. After all this time, he still loved her, and she loved him, too.
