A man becomes speechless when he offers to pay for an elderly woman’s groceries and recognizes his sweetheart 62 years after they parted ways.
Paul stood there, bewildered. His eyes welled up with tears. His face shined with unexpected elation, but a sadness lurked in his heart as he looked at the woman in front of him at a grocery store in Nashville, Tennessee.
She appeared to be in her early nineties, with quivering hands. She was unkempt, with dirty clothes and a ragged look.
“Can you kindly let me take the loaf of bread?” she said softly to the cashier. “I haven’t eaten anything in days. But I can’t pay more than a few cents.”
The cashier smiled at her and told her to go immediately, which is when Paul stepped in to pay for her. She softly turned around to express her gratitude for his kindness, and her eyes welled up with tears. Paul recognized the birthmark on her upper lip, and his past flashed before his eyes.
62 years ago…
September 26, 1959. Paul would never forget that date. He was at a party with his pals, playing ping-pong, when he first noticed Eden. He was 19, and she was 18. She was dressed in a floral frock, and her first glance assured him that she was the one.
Paul immediately grabbed a tissue from a nearby table and wrote, “Can I kiss you?” She blushed at the message and nodded yes. Then they left the party and walked to a park, where they strolled leisurely while holding each other’s hands and kissed passionately for a brief while.
Following this encounter, they began to meet frequently, and soon long, they were deeply in love. They promised to spend their lives together, but fate intervened, and the law, as well as their parents, prohibited them from keeping their vow to each other.
Back then, interracial marriages were not legal in the United States, which posed a significant difficulty for Paul and Eden because Paul was an American, born and raised in California, while Eden was an African, born in Chad and raised in California when her father relocated there for work.
Despite this, they resolved to defy fate and elope one day. But Eden’s mom caught her in the act and barred her from leaving the house.
Paul’s parents were also opposed to their connection, and they moved to another state to ensure that their son did not “ruin” his life as a result of a foolish pursuit, as well as misleading and lying to him that Eden was not the proper lady for him and had been cheating on him.
Paul was horrified and resolved never to approach Eden again without giving her the opportunity to explain herself. However, Eden has never cheated on him.
She was distraught when Paul moved to another town without telling her, and she wrote him several letters after finding out where he had moved, telling him he was the only one she had ever loved.
Paul didn’t know about all this until he was older and discovered the letters one day while moving out to Tennessee for a job.
Paul’s parents had hidden the letters from him, so he had no idea about them until that day. His heart raced as he read them, and he went back to California to find her, but it was too late. She had disappeared without a trace. He asked her neighbors and everyone else he could think of, but it was all for nothing.
Paul accepted his destiny and moved to Tennessee, where he met Jaden. It was more of a rebound for Paul than love with Jaden, but she served as a distraction from his memories of Eden, and after a few years of marriage and three kids, Paul grew to like her and was satisfied with his family situation.
However, another tragedy struck the guy 25 years into their marriage: Jaden died of cancer. The kids were grown by then, but Paul made sure to watch after them until they got married and settled.
But now that he was frequently alone, he despised loneliness, wondering why fate had been so cruel to his loving wife and whether he would ever see Eden again.
Present-day…
“Um…Eden… is that you?” Paul stuttered at the woman’s sight, his mouth agape.
He looked into her eyes, which were the same ones he’d seen 62 years ago, and her voice, albeit weak, had the familiar sweetness and tone of Eden, whom he had knew and loved. He ran out of the store, confident that he had correctly identified his first love.
Fortunately, she was still visible despite the thick snow falling around them, and he ran over to her before she vanished, as she did 62 years ago.
“I know it’s you, Eden! I know I can’t be wrong. Please listen to me!” he said, tapping her shoulder from behind.
However, she moved her shoulder in such a way that she didn’t want him to touch it and turned around. “I believe you are mistaken, sir. I’m not Eden,” she said with a slight smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
“I know you never cheated on me. I received the letters, but it was too late. I’m sorry,” he said abruptly, and the woman’s smile gradually faded into a desperate expression. She hid her face behind her hands and burst into tears.
“THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? WHY DIDN’T YOU COME LOOKING FOR ME?!” she muttered, crying uncontrollably.
Paul’s heart sank as he heard how terrible and harsh life had been for Eden. He offered her help and gently asked, “If you don’t mind, you can stay with me, Eden. Will that be okay with you?”
“No, Paul,” Eden said, embarrassed. “I don’t want to become a burden on anyone. I really don’t want to be a source of problems for anyone.”
“Unfortunately, Eden,” Paul murmured, resting his hand on hers, “life hasn’t been so kind to me, either. My wife died years ago, and my daughters are married and settled in other countries. I believe it was fate that brought us together. Will you not give me a chance to finish what we couldn’t before?”
“I appreciate your help, Paul, but there’s a lot that has happened. I need some time to think about it.”
Paul respected her decision and assured her things would be fine soon. And from that day on, he frequented her house and helped her.
One year down the line, she decided to marry him and proposed to him. Paul enthusiastically agreed, and they had a modest, sweet wedding in a Nashville church, attended by Paul’s daughters and several of their close neighbors.
