0529 Love' s Labor in Vain

She felt a heavy sense of loss. Through social media, she learned that he had got married, to a woman she hadn’t seen before. But that shouldn’t HAVE come as a surprise, as they HAD never started a relationship, AND his marriage was only to be expected, sooner or later.

She knew he liked her, and she liked him too, but maybe IT WAS not THE kind of affectionate feeling people would find in couples. The reasons? She was a few years older than him, and probably because of that, the way he treated her had always been a mix of admiration and respect, so respectful and polite that it was hard for her to SPARK the chemistry needed in HER heart IN ORDER TO ACTUALIZE THAT SPECIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM.

But she knew he liked her. After graduation, he came back to find her twice, tentatively asking her what kind of man she would like to date or marry. She understood what he meant, yet she just couldn’t see a future if they were together. He came from a highly conservative place where people PRESUMED THAT THE MAN WOULD be the absolute master of the house, and marry a younger woman who would be very fertile, and a good house-keeper. Few, if not none, would welcome a woman who was so bad at doing housework, NOT to mention a few years HIS SENIOR. However, the more serious concern for her was that he MIGHT never break through the politeness barrier between them, and act like someone in love. He was too kind and sweet to say something that might sound inappropriate; too cautious and timid to express clearly what he really wanted.

So he went back to his hometown, after two years of working in a city near where she was living. They still kept IN loose contact, and sometimes she would wonder what might HAVE HAPPENED if he could HAVE BEEN a bit more confident, making her feel loved rather than revered. IN THE PREVIOUS year, she HAD received an anonymous gift. When she CALLED and found out it was he who HAD sent the gift, she was moved. However, she didn’t realize then THAT this gift probably would be the last connection between them, a farewell gift, to be in memory of something that was both sweet and sad.