Love, Not Lust

I started chatting with an old friend on Facebook. I have added him for quite some time, but did not seek to find out how’s things going and how’s life treating him.

Recently he celebrated his 40th birthday and it gave me an opportunity to wish him and start a conversation. From the looks of it, he has not settled down with any girl nor has someone special in his heart.

He admired the fact that my relationship with my husband has stayed firm since our schooldays. He did not realise my recent marriage upheaval. I hinted at it and he realised that my marriage has not been smooth sailing. I said that maybe it was better not to have met anyone. He agreed. He was curious as to what happened to me and we decided to go for a cup of coffee.

We met. I enjoyed his easy going nature. We ate as he cracked jokes and I laughed. It made me miss the good times I had with my husband. Our relationship is different now, I thought to myself.

As we got down to the serious issues, it was easy for me to reveal my life story. I did not mean to reveal so much, but the words came naturally. He could not believe how I could withstand my husband’s infidelity for a long time when other wives would have taken the easier route of divorce.

But he told that he’s glad things were turning out for the better and wished me luck. I asked him whether there was anyone special in his life. His looks turned dark. He took a moment before revealing to me his story.

When we were all studying in uni, he met a girl. She was pretty. They never actually had any relationship. It seemed that he never asked because he thought she was too pretty for him. I found that to be the most ridiculous reason for not approaching the girl. But they hit it off as friends.

One day, they went for a barbecue session as a friend’s condominium. They were sitting together by the pool with their feet in the water. They leaned back. Their toes gently touched as the water cascaded. He felt a sense of calm. Any other guy would have gotten excited, but he didn’t.

He knew, then and there, that the feeling was true love. I asked whether the girl is attached currently. He said that she is married to a rich, fat man and she has changed. He still dreams of the old “her”. Ever since, he could not find anyone else who had that effect on him. Thus, he thought it would not be fair to the other party because he would compare her to the girl of his dreams.

He continues to walk the same path they walked together 13 years ago. He continued to go to the places they visited together, which gave him a sense of serenity. His eyes glistened as he said this and I knew that this feeling of true love was very deep and not easily forgotten.