You threw away your education for this so-called love! We sent you to study, not to get married! As if we needed some country girl in the family, Father fumed. The fiery passion of his son had to be extinguished by separation. At his fathers urging, Victor enlisted.
Victoria tidied the house. She had repapered the walls, changed the curtains, and now she was sorting through the clutter in the attic. Order soothed her, and when everything was in its place, so was her heart.
In the farthest corner, she found a box of Victors letters. How long had it been since she last opened it? The cleaning was forgotten. She read one, then another, then a third
Vicky and Victor had met at the Imperial College in London. Victor was a city boy; Vicky had come from a village.
She captivated him with her striking lookslong dark hair, astonishing eyes, a slender frame.
Victor and Vicky began seeing each other. For quiet, shy Vicky, boisterous Victor was like a whirlwind. Every day, he conjured some new gesture to win her favor. He left flowers by her dormitory door. Once, he appeared at her window in the dead of night just to whisper goodnight. Her room was on the ground floor.
Loud student parties, long walks, stolen kissestheir first year flew by in a blur. They were inseparable.
But Victor neglected his studies. He had never been keen on cracking the books, and now there was love! He was expelled. It hardly troubled him.
Ill find work, re-enroll part-time later. At least this way, I can marry you, my joy, he told Victoria.
He took a job at a factory and informed his parents of his plans. They knew Vicky a littleshe had visited a few times.
He expected reluctance. His parents had long dreamed of him marrying their friends daughter, but neither Victor nor the girl, Zoe, had any intention of fulfilling that hope.
Victor believed he could make them understand. He would tell them of his love for Vicky. Surely theyd seehe couldnt live without her!
But his hopes were dashed. They didnt understand. The familys reaction was brutal.
You threw away your education for this so-called love! We sent you to study, not to get married! As if we needed some country girl in the family, Father fumed.
To cool his sons ardor, they forced separation. At his fathers urging, Victor enlisted.
Vicky ached without him. The only comfort was his letterstender, passionate, full of longing.
Then, suddenly, they stopped. A month, two, half a yearnot a word. Vicky was beside herself.
It happens. Feelings fade with distance. It wasnt love, just infatuation, her classmate Alex reassured her.
Alex was their mutual friend. What Vicky didnt know was that Alex had written to Victor, confessing his love for herclaiming she was now his. He begged Victor not to write again, for they were to be married.
Vicky resigned herself. She buried herself in studies, leaned on friends. Alex was always there, his affection sincere.
At least let Alex be happy, she thought, and when he proposed, she said yes.
She meant to throw Victors letters away, but couldnt bring herself to. Instead, she tucked them into a box and hid them.
Vicky began a new life.
Victors parents wasted no time informing himVicky had married Alex.
Time slipped by. One decade, then another. Vicky and Victor lived in the same city, their paths never crossing.
Rumours reached herVictor had married. Not Zoe, but another woman. They had a son.
Vickys life, steady and quiet, brought no joy. She and Alex had two daughters. Work and motherhood became her purpose. There was no room for longing.
They carried their burdens without happiness, forgetting life could be bright.
Thirty-five years passed.
Vickys marriage crumbled. Without love, it couldnt last. Alex felt her heart was never his and found another. The girls, grown, had families of their own. Nothing bound them now.
After the divorce, Alex confessedhow he had orchestrated her separation from Victor.
Victor, too, was alone, his family gone.
Vicky read the last letter. She wept and smiled at once. Then came the unbearable urgewhere was Victor now? How had his life unfolded? Just to see him, to speakthat was all.
She decided to write to his old address. Perhaps he still lived there, or some relative might pass it on. Victoria had always been decisive. She wrote at once, inviting him to the café across from her house. Without hesitation, she dropped the letter into the nearest postbox.
The next day, she scolded herself. Why am I such a fool?
Victor, checking his mail, found the lettera rarity these days. The name on the envelope made his heart stutter. He read it, and time folded back.
At the appointed hour, he entered the café, nerves alight. The room was empty save for one woman at a table.
Vicky, he whispered.
She turned, lifting her eyes to his.
That gazehe had remembered it all these years. It was her. His Vicky.
They talked, wept, laughed.
When they left the café, they held hands, determined never to part again.
P.S.
Nearly five years have passed since that day. Victoria and Victor live in perfect harmony, counting each one a blessing.
True love never vanishes. Of this, they are now certain.
