#AtoZChallenge : Retrovailles
I smiled looking at the picture on my phone. It was a picture of a picture for it was of a memory that I cherished. The picture was our last one together. I looked at our smiling faces and I couldn’t help but remember that day all over again. I had a smile on my face but also a lone tear streaked down my face. It was the day we graduated. We were both happy with our success. I thought that day was the right time to tell you how I felt about you though my heart told me that you already knew.
But things didn’t turn out the way I expected them to. We had been good friends all along but we never had any major misunderstandings. But that day we fought – the reason for which I do not remember now for the pain of your leaving was too difficult to bear. The next morning when I walked by your house to talk to you, I had heard you had left. I was shattered. You had never told me about moving to a different city. You’d call me your best friend all along but you’d never told me about going away.
I had no means of knowing where you went or I didn’t have any means of contacting you. If I would have known that you were leaving, I’d have at least had the opportunity to say a proper goodbye. I know goodbyes can never be proper but at least it wouldn’t be a fight. Life had moved on. I had a well paying job, I had friends around and I had my family. But something was missing and that something was you! You understood me the way no one else did. You knew how to cheer me up when I was sad and you just knew me enough to make things better. But you’d left. I’d lost hope of seeing you again.
But life sometimes works in strange ways. It happened a week ago. I received an email. It was your name. But was it really you? I hadn’t know until I read the email. My joy knew no bounds. Though it had been 10 years now, my heart still skipped a beat. Since that day, we’d talked about a lot of things and today was the day of meeting you.
“You look at that a picture a lot, don’t you?”, it was a voice I couldn’t mistake. I turned and there you were! My first instinct was to hug you tight and never let you go. But I was uncertain until you hugged me. Then I held you like I’d never let you go. “I’m sorry. I missed you.”, was all that you said.
Yes, I was angry for what you’d done. I had lots of questions for which I needed answers. But at this moment, all of that could wait. For this was a moment of retrovailles. The joy of meeting you had subdued the anger. This felt good for this felt right.
Retrovailles : The joy of reuniting with someone after a long separation
Language : French
I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge again this year. This is my third time participating in the challenge. I’m going with the theme of “Rare, unusual and beautiful words from various languages”
This felt good for this felt right. Yes! It took a moment of Retrovailles for me to understand that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man. And I did 🙂
What a lovely post and a beautiful word. I love these unusual words you keep feeding us! R is for retirement.
Now that is a word that everyone should have in their lives atleast once 🙂
Godyears.net
A story inspired by a single, beautiful word. Very emotional and touching story.
Do see and share your thoughts on my#AtoZChallenge post on R
https://lonelycanopyblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/rainy-days-in-oceangreen-kannur/
Great word. Although, I think that guy has a lot of explaining to do…
I can’t tell you how much I loved reading this piece. I am weak for stories about meetings and partings to reunite years later, and in my life too good byes have come many a times. I can understand the feeling of not knowing where your loved one is, with no way to ever get in touch ever again, till a miracle happens. And the missing. I think, ‘I miss you’, has more emotion, power and love, than, ‘I love you’.
Here I remember some quotes: We say our goodbyes to ones we would want to meet again.
We don’t bid farewells to those we can’t stay without. We just leave.
Stories By Rabindranath Tagore