The Rose Garden

30 minutes, I'm 30 minutes early. I tossed and turned in bed, counted sheep, sang songs, tried to stop thinking, but I couldn't. I couldn't close my eyes all night, I had only one thought on my mind; you. I'll see you tomorrow..... And now I'm here, in the rose garden, 30 minutes early. For a moment it hits me, I've traveled halfway through the world to see you. You, someone I barely know. Then the feeling fades away, and belief comes back to me, I'm here to meet you. You, someone who might be my soul mate. I'm here to see you, someone who's worth walking the distance.

25 minutes, I have never thought I'd love you, how could I, when I didn't even know your name? I know nothing about you, but I know you so much. I know the person deep inside you, the one that opens up only to me. I've known the person that no one else knows, the person who you never show. I know the best and worst in you, I know who you really are. I don't know any of your masks, none of your personalities, but I know all the timeless values in you, the ones that never change.

20 minutes, sometimes I felt scared of loving you, sometimes I felt that it's all a dream. A dream that I'll wake up of once we know everything about each other. Then I'd lose you. Sometimes I told myself that I'd rather be your friend forever than to love you then lose you. You never helped, you always left me not knowing.

15 minutes, I couldn't control my feelings, I couldn't stop myself from loving you, I couldn't stop every cell in me from wishing to be with you. It's like a fountain of feelings came over me, took control of me and left me not knowing what to do. I only knew one thing, I don't want this feeling to stop, I want to love you forever.

10 minutes, it hits me again, what if you stood me up? What if you don't show up? What if I came all this way for nothing, for no one? What if you're not real? What if I've been imagining all this? What if I've done the craziest thing anyone could imagine? But, what if I stop believing in what I'm supposed to believe in? What if I have just been given the most wonderful gift in the world and I lose it because I'm too scared to try, because I'm too worried about getting hurt? I can't....

5 minutes, I try to imagine how our meeting will be like, but it's beyond my imagination. I know nothing, I feel nothing. I'm scared, yet excited. I feel like my throat is blocked yet I want us to keep talking forever. I can hear a voice inside me saying "what if?", but another answers "just believe". I can't wait any longer. I feel tears and I feel laughter. I feel sorrow and I feel happiness. I guess you won't show up, but I feel your presence. It's not knowing, that feeling, it's the charm of not knowing.

I never saw you, you never saw me, but the minute our eyes meet I know it's you and you know it's me. The minute our eyes lock, our lips smile, our souls fly, I know you're the one and you know we'll be always be together. As you come closer I feel your mystery unfolding, I know an extra bit of you with every step you take towards me. I stand still, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to look elsewhere, unable to stop smiling, hardly able to stop myself from falling into your arms. You're standing here in front of me, I can see you talking, and I hear nothing, nothing in the world but you.

"I love you, I've been in love with you for so long, it's been so hard keeping it from you all this time, but I knew you felt it, I knew how you believed in me. I didn't want to bring you down, I wanted you to know every little thing about me before I told you how I felt. Now that you know, I can say it, loud and clear, I want the whole world to know, I love you, and I plan to live every single day of my coming days loving you."

50 years later, our eyes still lock when they meet, with the same smile we look at each other and see no one else. It's a different smile, one that is only drawn on my face for you. We're back home, sitting in the rose garden, our rose garden, the one you've built for me. Years have gone by, but we're still the same, the charm is still there, our love has grown with us and it has filled the hearts of those around us. I've treasured every look, every word, every touch, every smile, every breath, I've treasured everything. Our memories of 50 years, and counting, are carved in my soul and forever will be....