I sold everything I had and bought a single ticket to meet my first love again. But fate had it differently. A heart attack on a flight brought me to a city where I had to make a choice: give up or take the longest road to love.
At 78, I sold everything I owned. My flat, my old pickup truck, even my vinyl record collection that I had collected over the years. Things didn’t matter anymore.
Elizabeth wrote to me first. The letter came unexpectedly, lost among bills and advertising brochures, as if I didn’t realise the power it had.
‘I think of you all the time.’
That was it. One phrase that set me back decades. I reread it three times before I allowed myself to breathe.
A letter. From Elizabeth. My fingers trembled as I unfolded the rest of the page.
‘I wonder if you remember those days. Our laughter, the way you held my hand that night by the lake. I remember. I always have.’
James, you old fool,’ I muttered to myself.
The past was in the past. But for the first time in years, it didn’t seem so far away.
We started texting again. First short notes, then long letters that revealed layer after layer of time. She told me about her garden, how she still played the piano, and how she missed my jokes about her terrible coffee.
And then one day she sent me her address. And that’s when I sold everything and bought a one-way ticket.
As the plane rose into the sky, I closed my eyes, imagining her waiting for me.
Would she still have the same ringing laugh? Would she still tilt her head slightly as she listened?
But suddenly a strange tightness in my chest made me tense up. A sharp, piercing pain slid down my arm. My breath caught. The stewardess rushed over to me.
Sir, are you feeling ill?
I tried to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. The lights in the cabin were blurring. The voices blended into noise. Then it was gone.
I woke up in another world. A hospital. Pale yellow walls. A machine next to my bed, beeping softly.
There was a woman sitting next to me, holding my hand.
You scared us. I’m Lauren, your nurse,’ she said softly.
I swallowed hard.
Where am I?
Bozeman General Hospital. Your plane made an emergency landing. You had a minor heart attack, but you’re in stable condition. The doctors say you can’t fly anytime soon.
I rested my head on the pillow.
So my dream would have to wait.
The cardiologist sighed tiredly.
Your heart isn’t as strong as it used to be, Mr Carter.
I realised that when I woke up in the hospital instead of where I was going,’ I mumbled.
He wrote something down in his medical history and left. Lauren lingered in the doorway.
You don’t seem like the kind of person who listens to doctors.
I don’t look like the kind of person who just sits around waiting to die,’ I cut her off.
She didn’t object. She bowed her head slightly, looking at me intently.
You were flying to someone.
To Elizabeth. We… wrote to each other. After forty years of silence. She asked me to come over.
Lauren nodded, as if she already knew. Maybe she did – I’d been talking about Elizabeth in my semi-conscious ramblings.
The next morning Lauren handed me a bunch of keys.
What’s this?
The exit.
Lauren, are you…
Leaving? Yeah. She sighed. – I’ve been trapped for too long. You’re not the only one looking for something, James.
I searched her gaze for doubt. There wasn’t any.
You don’t even know me.
She grinned.
I know enough. And I want to help you.
We drove for hours. The road stretched ahead like an unspoken promise.
How much further? – She asked.
A couple of hours.
Good.
Are you in a hurry?
No,’ she smiled. – Just making sure you don’t pass out on the way.
I laughed. Lauren had come into my life out of the blue, but I couldn’t imagine this journey without her.
The address from the letter didn’t lead us to a house. It was to a nursing home.
Is that here? – Lauren frowned.
This is the address she gave.
We went inside. The smell of fresh linen and old books tried to make the place cosy.
And then I saw her.
She was sitting by the window, thin arms resting on the plaid. Silver hair. Kind, tired eyes.
But it wasn’t Elizabeth.
Susan,’ I whispered.
She smiled weakly.
James. You came.
I exhaled bitterly.
You tricked me.
Susan lowered her gaze.
I didn’t want to be alone.
You let me believe-’ I gritted my teeth. – Why?
I found your letters. She kept them, reread them. But she died a year ago.
I closed my eyes, feeling everything fall apart.
You had no right.
I know.
Where is she buried?
Susan gave me the answer. I nodded and walked out in silence.
The wind howled between the headstones. I stood in front of her name engraved on the stone.
I’ve come,’ I whispered. – But too late.
All my life I’d been running from loss. But what was there left to lose now?
I exhaled and turned away.
Let’s go,’ I said to Lauren.
Later, I bought Elizabeth’s house.
James, I don’t want to be a burden,’ Susan said when I asked her to live with me.
You’re not a burden. You were just looking for a house. So was I.
Lauren stayed, too.
We sat in the garden in the evenings, playing chess and watching the sunset.
Life rewrote my plans. But in the end, one trip gave me more than I could have hoped for. All I had to do was open my heart and trust fate.
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