63 Years Ago

63 years ago, I met the love of my life. I can remember the day as if it were only yesterday. We met at Navy Pier in Chicago, the summer of 1949. We had been put in the same car on the ferris wheel, and from there we hit it off almost instantly.

He was a tall boy, with hair the color of the rich, beautiful earth, and his eyes were a mesmerizing jade color, like that of a pine tree. While we were on the ferris wheel, we talked about trivial things, like the weather, the pier, my town where I lived, things like that. We then began learning about one another, the things we liked to do, the things that we aspired for, and, as it turned out, we actually liked each other.

Eventually, the ride ended, and we went to get ice cream. We walked towards the ice cream parlor, and along the way we talked about whatever was on our mind. He bought me a vanilla ice cream cone, and himself a chocolate. It amazed me that he spent 10 cents on ice cream- and 5 of them on a girl who was nearly a complete stranger!

When we were done, I told him where I was staying, and he walked me back. The vacation passed by very quickly, and we spent time together every day. We had decided to keep in touch, even when I went back home.

All things must come to an end, and, sadly, they did. I went back home to Minneapolis, and he stayed home in Chicago. We wrote back and forth for three years, but suddenly, he stopped replying. I felt lost, and alone.

It was another year before I got a letter from his mother saying that he had gotten into a crash, and had been in the hospital. He had lost some of his memory, and some of the memories gone were of the summer. I was just happy that he was okay. I got progress reports from his mother, and it was a long time before he got his memory back. His mother said that they had gotten a telephone, and told me the number. We visited each other sometimes as we got older, but we stopped after a while.

I eventually got married, but he was still in my mind. More years went by, and my husband passed away. I felt lost once again. I went to Chicago for the last time in May 2012. It was two months ago I got a phone call from him saying he had regained all of his memory, and he wanted to meet up for ice cream once again. I felt whole again.

 - TIME SKIP -

We got married in July, 2013 to commemorate our meeting. We lived together for two years, and then my beloved died. I didn’t feel alone this time when I lost him. His memory was forever in my heart, and in 2016, I died. I was happy, for I was with everyone I loved, and I knew that I would never regret marrying him. I am so thankful for 67 years ago.