When Robert left for the Army, Julia promised she would wait faithfully. She kept her wordwriting him letter after letter, each one filled with heartfelt confessions of love, adorned with hand-drawn daisies and hearts, and sealed at the end with a painted kiss alongside the words your kiss. She truly loved him with all her heartas deeply as a person can. When he was gone, the minutes stretched into hours and the days seemed endless.
Thats why, in the years that followed, Julia could not believe Robert could have done such a thing.
Her heart insisted it was impossiblehe could never forget her. But when her beloved stopped replying to her letters, and then, in a handful of distant lines, wrote that she ought to forget him, Julia had no choice but to accept the truth.
She married the first man who crossed her path, but there was no love in it. She closed away her broken heart, determined not to be burned again. No one else could take Roberts place in her affections.
Years later, Julia was in the kitchen, wearing her apron and slippers, when the doorbell rang. She went to answer it as she always did, only to find Robert standing there, older and wearing an officers uniform.
I couldnt quite believe it when I heard youd married. I had to come and see for myself, he said, pain etched into his face. Now I understand why you never wrote back
He turned to leave, but Julia stopped him.
How can you say that? It was you who wrote telling me to forget you she said, not certain if he was making excuses or accusing her.
After a long pause, he replied, And? I sent my last letter from the barracks last week, still hoping youd wait for me
A lump choked Julias throat; she couldnt utter a word. Tears scalded her cheeks and her mind raced with questionshow, why?
That same day, Julia went to see her parents, suspecting they knew more than theyd ever said. They had never warmed to Robert, disapproving because he came from humble means.
Forgive us, love, said her mother, unable to hold back her tears. We only wanted you to live an easier life. We know what it is to scrimp for every penny to buy a sweet for the children. We hoped for something better for you.
Julia looked at them with anguish. But you were poor yourselves, and you still loved each other and got married. Why would you try to ruin my happiness? How could you?
Without a word, her mother handed her a small stack of letters.
Sitting in the next room, Julia didnt simply weepshe sobbed aloud. In Roberts last letter, just as hed said, was a pressed snowdrop. Next to it hed written, I searched high and low for this, but I found it for you.
That evening, Julia had a serious talk with her husbanda man who cared only for his job, his money, his mates at the pub, and perhaps, as the gossips in the street would whisper, even other women. Nothing else seemed to matter to him. They parted quietly, without bitterness.
For the first time, Julia found the courage to go out walking after dark, winding her way through the lamplit streets. She felt neither fear nor regret. She was going hometo the one man who had always truly loved her, and whom she, even through the years, had never stopped loving.
With time, all misunderstandings and old resentments faded. In the home of Julia and Robert two fair-haired sons grew up, while their grandparents delighted in their laughter and mischief. And everyone agreed: the greatest fortune a family can have is not gold or silver, but a house filled with true love.
