**The Gaze of Green Eyes from the Past**
James woke at dawn and thought:
*Blimey, its been ages since I slept this well. And where? In a haystack out in the field, no comforts, no warm blanket. Not that I needed onesummer air, sweet-smelling hay, cosy as anything.*
He sat up and brushed the hay aside. His mind was clear, no lingering sadness over splitting from his wife. No grief. Had he ever truly loved her? The question nagged at him.
*So all those ten years together were just what? A pretend marriage? We got on well enough, I suppose, but never had kids. Emily had a daughter, thoughclaimed she didnt even know who the father was. Had her “for herself,” as she put it.*
James had always sensed something forced in Emilys affection. They argued often. And after every row, his mind would drift back to those green eyesbright as emeraldsand the gentle smile of Nurse Maggie, whod tended to him in hospital after he took a bullet in Afghanistan. Her voice soothed him; her thick chestnut hair framed those unforgettable eyes. Hed never seen another pair like them. Maggie had been his anchor through the worst of it.
On the day he was discharged, hed picked a bunch of wildflowers and gone to find her. Hed planned to ask her to come home with him, knowing it wouldnt be simple, but hoping all the same.
*”Maggies not here,”* another nurse told him. *”Transferred to another field hospital.”*
*”Where?”*
*”No idea. And even if I knew, I couldnt say. You know how it is out here”*
Devastated, hed still resolved to find her. But how? All he had was a name and the colour of her eyes. In the end, hed gone homemedically discharged, unfit for duty. Back to the same old mess: Dad drinking, Mum working herself ragged, the two of them rowing nonstop.
Then one day, his old mate Liam turned up. Theyd served together, seen hell side by side.
*”Alright, Jimbo?”* Liam clapped him on the back. *”Hows the shoulder holding up?”*
*”Not bad,”* James said with a shrug.
*”Come down to my village. Nothing for you hereno work, no future. Unless youve got someone keeping you?”* He winked.
*”No one. Still cant forget Maggie.”*
*”Proper got under your skin, didnt she?”* Liam sighed. *”But youve got to keep looking. Write letters. Dont give up.”*
So James went with him, settling into a tiny, run-down cottage. Fixed it up bit by bit. Meanwhile, Liam fell hard for a local girl, Lucy, and moved to the nearest town.
*”Sorry, mate,”* Liam said guiltily. *”Dragged you out here, then bogged off myself. Never expected to meet Lucy.”*
*”Dont sweat it,”* James said, forcing a grin. *”Mightve found someone myself. Proposed to Emily.”*
Now, standing in the field, James snapped out of the memory. A bitter echo of Emilys voice cut through:
*”Youll never find another like me. No womans going to put up with you the way I did. Your little quirkswhod want that? And anyway, Ive got a proper bloke now. One who actually loves me.”*
Her “quirks” were what she called his bouts of silencethe way hed retreat into himself, haunted by the past. Shed poke and prod, demanding he snap out of it, and it always ended in a row. James never understood why it riled her so much. He never even talked about it.
Last night, shed finally said what hed long suspected. Hed listened in silence, packed a bag, and walked out as her curses chased him down the lane.
*Funny,* he mused. *Thought Id rage, scream, blame her. But nothing. Just relief. Like a weights gone.*
Hed walked until dusk, then veered into a field, burrowing into a haystack to sleep. Tomorrow, hed head to townLiam would take him in.
*Finally,* he thought, almost smiling. *No more pretending. No more lies.*
For the first time in months, he felt light. Unburdened. The hay was warm, the night quiet. He fell asleep under the stars, dreamless, waking only when dawn brokeand there, in his mind, were Maggies green eyes.
*Right. Time to move.*
He caught a bus into town, bought a bottle of wine and a box of chocolatesLiam never touched spirits, and Lucy had a sweet tooth.
At their flat, Liam answered in joggers, grinning. *”Jim! Bloody hell, get in here!”*
James hesitated. *”Just me.”*
Liams smile faltered, but he waved it off. *”Kitchen. Breakfasts on.”*
Lucy appeared, their seven-year-old, Noah, barrelling past to latch onto James.
*”Good to be wanted,”* James thought wryly.
Over breakfast, he handed over the wine and chocolatesthen noticed Lucys rounded belly.
*”Am I seeing things, or?”*
*”Youre seeing right,”* Lucy laughed.
*”Brilliant,”* James said, meaning it.
*”Didnt plan it,”* Liam admitted. *”But here we are. A little girl this time.”*
*”About time,”* James teased.
*”Says the single bloke pushing thirty,”* Lucy shot back.
Later, as they reminisced, Lucy kept shooting Liam meaningful looks. Finally, she blurted:
*”Right. Ive had enough. Tell him.”*
Liam sighed. *”Weve been sitting on this a while. Didnt want to stir things up while you were with Emily. But Maggies alive. She wrote to us.”*
James went still.
*”Shes in a village up north,”* Liam continued. *”Lucy tracked her downsent letters for months. Maggie asked about you. Said she never found another bloke like you. Still waiting.”*
On the train north, James stared at the passing countryside, Maggies letter clutched in his hand. He knew every word by heart.
Shed waited. Loved him. Just as hed never stopped loving her.
And now, at last, he was going to her.
