Wish

The day sparkled. The sky a darling blue. A dress so crisp and white lay across the end of the feathery down bed. She sat beside it, her cheeks a warm rose hue. She had been awake for hours and finally a moment alone. A gathering of finches announced the rising sun outside the upstairs window to her bedroom. She fussed with her veil that was already in its place in her perfect red curls. The train of her veil was wrapped around her tiny waist, the white wisp transforming her flannel gown like a fairytale. Stepping in front of the round iron mirror she almost didn't know herself. Then she saw the look in her eyes, dark and foreboding. If she had just turned to go and follow the delightful smells wafting up from the breakfast kitchen below, she would have missed it. Instead she stared deeply into her own eyes, knowing something was wrong. All week, the fear had been building and now the day had arrived. She knew the truth and nothing about the last six months had changed it. She knew he was prince charming but the wish of that incredible love was not there. So many times through the flurry of the preparations she meant to ask him was it the same for him. She wondered was he "the one" for her? This was the rest of her life, and she was holding it out to him. Is this what she had always wished for? Unsure she closed her eyes tight as if to search for the answer. A warm breeze blew the window open across the room. The wind swirled in and kissed her soft face. She blinked and raised her hand to shade her eyes from the reflected light of the open window. Shaking her head she shifted and laid her wrinkled hand in his. The light catching her eyes and making them sparkle. He looked down at her and asked what she was thinking about. "It seems like you were somewhere else," he said. Her head rested on his feeble shoulder and she thought of the years since they said 'I do'. Here on the end of the dock, at the end of another day, they sat side by side. This is where you could find them each day waiting on the sunset. She smiled. She knew the incredible love that only time can create. A deep abiding passion, flourishing and blossoming like an apple tree in the spring. Sweet and full of promise. She knew full well that she had not lied that long ago day of exchanged vows. It had been the beginning and she had wished for this love. With a sigh of contentment she whispered, "I truly love you" and closed her eyes again.