He fidgeted with his hands. It has been chilly lately and he just isn't as young as he used to be. "Dear, the sunset's beautiful, isn't it?" He turned to the warm smile on his wife's face. Smiling back at her, he said, "Do you remember when we first met?" He smiled down at his worn down shoes as he flashed back to that time in primary school.
He had moved from another city because of his dad's work. The first day of school, he walked through the corridors with care. Even though they were just children, they were still scary for the new kid. That day, he ended up spending recess at the school playground, swinging slowly on the swing set. For weeks he did that, until one day, he felt someone sit beside him and he can feel that someone's eyes on him. One day, he felt the person walk closer to him but then stopped and walked away when they heard the bell. Finally, one fateful day, he felt light tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see a girl. "Hello." She smiled at him. He smiled back at her briefly. "My name's Isabella. What's yours?" Isabella asked him. "James." He answered shyly. Isabella beamed at him as she sat on the swing next to his. "Hello James. I'm new here. I just transferred." She said. "Really?" He didn't know what else to say. She nodded. "Yeah, my dad moved us here because of work." James didn't make a sound but instead he stared down at his shoes. "Hey, do you want to be friends?" Isabella asked. James half smiled. "Sure." He didn't know that she would be with him her entire life.
"Do you remember the day that I told you? I was a mess." James said to his wife. They were eighteen and they had were walking around in the mall after a movie. "Wasn't that great?" Isabella beamed up at him. "I know right." James said chuckling. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked in her white sundress and flats with a butterfly head band on her head. He didn't know how he could be so lucky and all he wanted was for her to know how he really felt. At that moment he decided he needed to tell her. He was sick and tired of other guys breaking her heart and he knows he can do better, so he stopped and said, "Hey Izzy?" Isabella looked at him. "There's something that I need to tell you." And so he told her everything. "James..." She said at the end of it all. He, on the other hand, ran away like a coward. They didn't talk for days after that. She was the one to approach him. And they decided to stay friends and somehow, James accepted that.
James smiled as he remembered the time they were in uni. James still felt protective over her but he accepted the fact that they were just friends. That is, until one day in summer. They were vacationing at a friend's house in the country and for the first few days they were there, Isabella hadn't been herself. She was fidgety and on edge. He could never quite figure out what was wrong. Then, when they were having a campfire, Isabella pulled him aside and told him something that would change his life. "James, I have to tell you something." She bit her lower lip. He furrowed at her. "What is it Izzy?" He urged her on. "I don't want you to freak out, but I think I may feel something." She said. James had been confused. He didn't understand what she had been on about. "Well..." James's eyes grew wide as he listened to what she had to say. By the end of it all, Isabella was crying and was telling him that it's okay if he didn't feel the same and that she understood. "What are you talking about?" James said in a shaky voice. Isabella looked up at him, tears were welling up in his eyes. "I loved you and I still do and I always will." Isabella lunged and hugged him. She felt almost relieved.
James was brought back to the present by a small voice and someone sitting on his lap. "Grandpa." The little boy said. "Jack. Where's your parents?" He caressed the little boy's head. Jack pointed over his grandfather's shoulder. With difficulty, James turned to see his son and his daughter in law smiling at him from underneath the shade of a tree. His daughter in law had a baby wrapped up in her arms. "My new born granddaughter." James thought, smiling at the couple. "Is grandma in heaven?" Jack asked. James turned his attention to his grandson. "Yes, yes she is and she is up there with angels that will always protect her. She will always be looking after you." He said pinching the boy's nose, making Jack giggle. "Come on, let's go." Jack got up and bounded towards his parents. James slowly got up, placing a hand on his wife's tombstone and said, "Honey, I'll get going. I love you." Tears welled up in his eyes, which he wiped away with a shaky hand. He knew that she was always there, in his heart because he had promised her that he would love her forever, until the day he died.
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