Saudade

Should we part once more…

Her father lifted the hair against her shoulders and gently placed it upon her neck. A heart necklace with a photo inside. "This way you'll always know that she's there with you, your guardian angel."

"How did you know when you were in love?"

Her father thought for a moment. "Well, when I first met your mother, I thought she was beautiful", he answered. "But what I had felt then, wouldn't be something you would call love. You can find someone attractive, but not necessarily be attracted to it, darling. True love takes time. And love at first sight, is a feeling of taking that leap. We fought. But we were both willing to work at it. It was challenging. And we loved each other."

"That didn't answer the question", she pestered. Her father laughed.

"It's a feeling of getting to know the other person. As if you had met them again and again, for the very first time. It might be something they said. It could have been something they did for you. And you fall in love with the little things. Feelings into that of not wanting to leave their company... but life will pull you apart, you just hold on to every second that you can."

He left her mother's belongings the way it was for a long time. Though he generally tended to let go of things, he couldn't bear to get rid of anything that was a reminder of her. After a few years, he donated some of what she owned to others who could use it more, giving some of it to their daughter, and keeping the things with the most sentimental value that he shared with her. He eventually surrounded their home with flowers, because every flower was a reminder of her.

How do you take a relationship to the next step?

If you stumbled upon her, met her along the way, if there is an end in which the two of you may not meet again and paths may potentially never cross. Then it is simple. If there is a spark, you act on that thought. You're direct with no expectations, finding a link to reconnect. It's easy. You live and let go. But if you met at a workplace or shared recreation. There's a difficulty. Easier dependent on coming conclusions. But if not foreseeable. Risky. Do you take a chance... of changing the relationship. It's tricky. All in the goal of a fairy tale story. The ending that you see to be magical. But nothing really ends, it's a transition, a metamorphosis. The stories continue even after the credits roll. If we were a movie. Yes, that was a Hannah Montana reference.