We met half way up the mountain on a hiking trail…. discreet, watchful, cautious. The instructions were clear… the conditions set.

The climb was steep, the heat unbearable. Blanket, coffee, notepad… anxious waiting on her…
The years fell away. We met a lifetime ago when we were so very young.. she, a vibrant girl, exquisitely beautiful, eyes always laughing.. sparkling.. promising…She left too soon and too sudden.. I kept track of her career, the bright lights, the fame, the stories, the news… 

I saw her first…slowly making her way towards me… breathing heavily, struggling.. finding it difficult to move. My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t move… couldn’t get up…staring at her in utter disbelief… horror…shock.

Much later… lying on her back, breathing easily, calm, relaxed… looking sideways, stretching out her arms. We hug each other and 40 years fall away. We became THEN, stars in our eyes, dreams of good, better, best….tears for the less, lesser, least…

She met him 15 years ago. Exceptionally everything… looks/money/name…whirlwind romance, swept off their feet… Married … breaking news… marriage contract…. yours remain yours until eternity…. Who cares!! “I’ll look after you… I love you!!!”

It started soon.. numbers growing steadily. First women, him watching… Then men, him watching. Then both. Him always watching.. eyes cold, no emotion, no feeling. Nothing mentioned, silence, the unspoken truth, the hidden shit….

Violence…. scars, injuries….medical treatment…. always discreet, no records, house visits, house stitching, house-ridden….never face… no-one to know. Luxury life, comfort, holidays… soothing, presents… nothing wrong, keep smiling…

Diagnosis.. far-off clinic.. not curable.. enough is enough… before the end.

I looked at the offer, the tag for silence… more than what she could hope to spend in a lifetime… if she had one. Choices… choices… anything to gain???

The divorce was finalized in another province… in the privacy of the judge’s chambers…It was so amicable!!

We kept in touch.. until the end.

HV