Chapter 24

He began the walk around the harbor to the Opera House feeling curious. It was one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and he was meeting someone there to potentially decide something important. It all seemed a little Sleepless in Seattle to him, and he reminded himself to be aware of a potential letdown. 

As he turned around the last bend, he saw her standing there with her long dark hair blowing in the light breeze. She was beautiful, and he remembered how he felt he first time he had seen her in the tiny town of Castle Point in New Zealand. He picked up a kind of sadness in her posture, and he wondered what exactly she hoped to accomplish here. He had mistaken people’s desire for therapeutic advice for romantic interest before, and he reminded himself to proceed cautiously. 

As he approached, she saw him out of the corner of her eye, and ran into his arms into a deep embrace. She greeted him like a long lost love, and he quickly felt she was in a great deal of personal pain. Once again he was curious.

“Wow, I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever see you again, and here you are,” he said. “I was so blown away to see you yesterday, but it looked like you were in the middle of something kind of intense. What are you doing here?”

“Oh John,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve thought about you so much since our one night at the beach. As you’ve probably guessed, the man I was arguing with yesterday was the man I’m engaged to.”

“So, umm. You’re still engaged then? I kind of wondered what that was yesterday. It’s wonderful to see you and I want to hear how you are.”

“Am I still engaged? That’s a very good question. Do you now what we were fighting about yesterday? Love. And how he and I have never really felt it for each other. I told him I thought I had glimpsed it before in my life, and how that’s how I know it’s not there with him. It’s different for us. For him. It’s a cultural thing. A manner of honor. Of pride. But when I saw you sitting there yesterday I knew it was some kind of a sign.”

John took a deep breath and looked out at the harbor in front of him. How did he get here? With this woman, in this time and in this place?  He looked back at her and took her in. She was beautiful of course, but also had a wounded look showing a lifetime of hurt and confusion. Was he her answer? Was he anyone’s answer anymore?

“Well I’m not sure what you’re telling me exactly,” he began. “But I will tell you that our last meeting had a profound effect on me. It made me realize what I had to lose by isolating myself.  Made me want to connect to other people again. I moved to Auckland shortly after that experience, and you made me want to do that.”

She grabbed his head and looked into his eyes with a new kind of excitement.

“I live in Auckland now as well.”