From Dark Times to Bright Miracles: How Life Rewarded Me for It All
Many folks doubt that happiness can follow a streak of misfortunes. That after storms, there’s calm, and after darkness, there’s light. I was no exception, until I found myself at rock bottom and felt an unseen force gently start pulling me up—toward where the air is clearer, and the heart dares to believe that anything is possible once more.
At one point, my life seemed like a series of unfortunate events. I couldn’t keep a job—either I was laid off or cheated out of my pay. A long-term relationship with the man I trusted collapsed the instant I caught him with someone else. And my health? It failed me miserably. Illnesses hit me one after another like clockwork, and hospital walls became all too familiar. I moved from doctor to doctor, undergoing tests, hooked up to IVs, asking myself why? I hadn’t wronged anyone and tried to be a good person… yet it felt like someone up there decided I should suffer.
One day, while waiting for yet another consultation, I sat on a bench outside the clinic, drinking bitter coffee from a vending machine. A woman approached my bench. She looked weary, yet elegant, with sad eyes. We started talking. Her sister was dying from an unknown illness, and doctors were at a loss. I shared my own struggles—how exhausted I was from the pain and loneliness. We talked for hours… and suddenly realized we had become as close as family.
On the third day after our meeting, we began seeking an alternative to the medical nightmare. Someone provided us with the contact of a healer. We both went—first from desperation, then with a glimmer of hope. And—believe it or not—two months later, I woke up without pain for the first time in years. Her sister could get out of bed again.
The three of us—Tanya, Valeria, and I—became inseparable. Every week, we’d gather at a café, chatting, laughing, dreaming. It felt like we had pulled each other out of the swamp. Soon after, while solving a crossword in a newspaper, I stumbled upon a job ad. I called and was hired by a small family firm that welcomed me with open arms.
Three months later, they unexpectedly offered me a holiday—simply because “you’ve earned it.” I went to the seaside. There, while lounging on the beach without a care in the world, I was hit by a volleyball. It was tossed by a tall, tan man with blue eyes and a boyish grin. He apologized and invited me to join their game: “We need another player!”
That’s how I met Ben. We chatted, laughed, strolled in the evenings, and eventually returned to London together. First, it was morning coffee. Then evening walks. Soon, I realized I wanted to spend every day with him.
One day, the landlady of the apartment I was renting told me her daughter was moving back in and I needed to find a new place. I panicked. I shared this at our weekly “girls’ night” with Tanya and Valeria.
“Move in with me,” said Tanya. “My son is moving out; I think he’s found someone. He even talked about a wedding.”
Before I could thank her, Ben walked in holding a bouquet, kissed me, and suddenly… knelt down on one knee:
“I’ve made up my mind. Let’s move in together. I’ve rented two apartments for us to choose from. But first, answer this—will you marry me?”
I couldn’t recall how I breathed then. I just remember softly whispering, “Yes.” Then, I heard applause behind me. I turned around… and saw Tanya and Valeria with eyes wide open.
“Mom? Aunt Valeria?!”
They didn’t know whom I loved. I didn’t know Ben was her son. Everything happened so quickly and amazingly, it seemed fate decided enough was enough.
A month later, we married. Tanya, my friend, became my mother-in-law. Now, Ben—my husband, my friend, the father of our twins, Daisy and Tim—is still looking at me just like that day on the beach. And I remain ever grateful for life’s gifts, especially the unexpected ones.
Sometimes happiness arrives right when you let go and stop fighting. It finds you on a bench outside a hospital, in a café, on a beach… The key is to be ready to embrace it.
