'Why are you holding my hand?'

The returning palm of spring turned the wheat field into a green and blossom's song at her slightest touch. It is a magical thing that only happens on planet earth, and that is why we should be thankful for what mother nature has gifted us. This phenomenon could be seen as a token of life, but also as the invincible power of love. Nevertheless, love is what we encounter everyday, without even realizing how cherished it must be. 

As the footsteps were set on the stone laid ground, the man with gunmetal-grey strokes of hair slightly flinched at the decisive comment while he let go of the somewhat inflamed hand. 'Oh, I apologize for the inconvenience. I must have been dreaming about something.'

The one whose hand was occupied earlier chuckled hearty, hearing the senior citizen stutter in her presence made the air feel somewhat enlightened. 'It is okay. Those deer eyes of yours tell me that you are an amiable gentleman.'

Rough pebbles made crackling sounds beneath their feet while the elder refuted the given compliment with both hands waving. 'Well, if you really think so and do not mind, can I take this opportunity to walk you further onto this path?'

Therefore, the evergreen woman accepted the offer without thinking another second, accompanied by the deer-eyed man as they strolled forward in comforting silence. 

Peace is what they felt from then on and because of that, the woman had to make amends. 'Tell me dear, what is bothering you? I can see this particular desire in your eyes that there is something...'

Sighingly puffing dry air out of his mouth, the sentence was finished by a faltering voice. '...missing. Miss, can I tell you a story?'

Twice. It was the second time that graceful afternoon that the woman was voluntarily laughing. 'Gentleman, you sure have a lot of requests today. I however do not mind cooperating so go on.'

Multiple wrinkles formed around the deer eyes of the elder, forming his hands behind his spine to alleviate the joint pain. 'One more question and then I am done interrogating. Do you prefer a love story or a tragedy?'

Showing her teeth in joy as she clearly caught his humoristic way of forming his speech, the woman said her opinion on this topic. 'I think that romantic tales have their own color. Although, tragedies are in that same condition, nonetheless. In my honest judgement, I prefer the latter as the ones I read got more to the story. A combination would be great!'

He simply beamed, slowly strolling further as rapid as the age allowed him. 'Well, this specific story would be perfect for you. A tale about a youthful guy in his begin thirties who chose to go on a cruise over the Mediterranean with his friends. The beautiful, extravagant ship journey was something he had been anticipating on his whole life, spending almost all of his savings to get himself on that cruise.'

The angelic smile appeared on the elder woman's lips again, slapping one hand on her mouth to desperately hide her excitement. 'Oh my god, I like being on the waters too. The smell of the sea, the colors of the sunset that you cannot see on land and everything else got a special feel to it, doesn't it?'

Nodding at her direction, the weary man gave the storytelling its all as he continued the way. 'Young and free of horrid worries, they all decided to go to the open-decked bar. The youngster agreed to order some drinks after losing the rock-paper-scissors game, idiotically being the one who insisted on playing as he leaned against the counter with one hand raised. And when he wanted to open his mouth, his lips did not want to attach to each other anymore. This guy encountered a mesmerizing woman with the most beautiful eyes in the world. The girl behind the bar looked smart, beautiful, sensuous and had a gorgeous smile that could knock you down. Her style was enchanting, and her lovely eyes could make the rest of the world disappear.'

Halting her footsteps for a moment, the evergreen lady met the elder in the eye as she frowned. 'Oh, I think I have heard this story.'

The man sensed that she stopped walking, glancing behind while shaking his head from the left to the right. 'I do not think so Miss. Hear me out....'

Joshua, the one who was captivated by the female waitress could not believe his own played-out sight anymore. Deciding to act on his self-convinced feelings, the young guy walked up to the bar where she waited for the ordered drinks to come. 'You know something, do you believe in love at first sight?'

The alluring smile that played on her lips gave of a million different meanings. 'Mister, you are drunk.'

Letting an immensely smug grin to suit his mouth, Joshua could not refrain himself as his clear affection towards the lady was conveyed. 'Well, that is moderately true as I became instantly drunk when I saw you. Maybe you did not take the cue to notice it yet. In your sight, there is a dream. Actually, it is exactly what I often see in my dreams. And when I saw that dream tonight, I could not take my eyes off it for even a second. You know what I am trying to say?'

She raised her shaped eyebrows high at his ambiguous way of forming sentences, shaking her head in denial. 'I think that you should not be drinking anymore.'

The young guy nudged his head in her direction, scoffing his utterly ridiculous reasoning. 'Honey, you got me drunk by giving me those delicious drinks.'

Rolling her hazel eyes, she gave Joshua her final definitive answer and a cold shoulder at once. 'Okay, then I will not be giving you drinks anymore.'

Yet, Joshua was sure that he could convince her at that instance. 'You are still getting me drunk.'

Planning to call the security guards within a minute, she tried to give the young guy one last generous chance. 'Watch it before...'

That opportunity went in the darkest vain, a handsome face coming closer to hers as he interrupted her by executing this action. 'I am only watching you, what is wrong with that?'

'His undeniable flirting got interrupted by the young girl's co-worker who called her back. He on the other hand could not stop ordering drinks, impulsively deciding to buy beverages for everyone at the bar that night until he blackened out.'

The elderly woman laughed together with the man, coughing at the second of hearing what happened. 'Okay, I take my words back that this story was not unique enough. That is utterly dim-witted from that young man.'

Catching up with his breath as he giggled too, the man progressed in telling the tale further. 'Yes, that is probably the right way to describe the guy's behavior. The next morning, the girl was supposed to deliver the bill with the shocking amount of zero's written in black printed letters. Still, the guy was not fazed by the check, even though he had no money to put in for it. Joshua rather wanted to convey his truthful passion right away in a moderately sober state. And he did.'

The woman purled her bottom lip as she looked in question at the storyteller. 'What was her answer to his confession?'

A strong windflaw pushed his gun-metal grey hairstrokes back behind, revealing the wrinkles on his forehead as the elder ruefully sighed. 'Well, the young lady did not reciprocate his feelings unfortunately. Thereafter, the guy made up his mind by doing everything in his power to win her over. Not to forget that he even took salsa classes that she apparently adored so much.'

The man tried to replicate the dainty dance, not coming far as his old hip allowed him no more than one step. 

Laughing at what the elderly struggled at, the woman made the man smile a bit as he dived them both deeper into the dept of the story. 'A small amount of happiness passed by which was replaced by a miscommunication. The girl had found out that he read her dairy where she clearly mentioned all her likes and dislikes, and that was a violation of privacy. She did not want to see Joshua near her sight, leaving her desirable job and the ship at instant. Before that occurred, the youngster had left her his phone number in the hope that she would call him back eventually. The angels above listened as she had called him within the span of a week. Any guesses why?'

She shook her head after thinking about the answer for a while. The outcome was found funny by the elder already, snickering the sentence out of his mouth. 'Because he did not keep his promise to give her a dog! They started dating and months after, Joshua and the girl were married under loveable conditions with the opportunity on becoming parents to a dog named Pluto.'

The evergreen lady clapped her hands in happiness as she responded to what she thought was the end of the story. 'Really? I loved the fairytale-like love story. Mister, you are a great storyteller if I must have to admit.'

Biting his already dry chapped bottom lip, thinking back about one of the first question that he had asked the one who he was walking with for this past half hour, the elder tremblingly uttered his phrases. 'Miss, this fairytale is not that rosy as it is a tragedy after all. Months later, the young lady apparently lost her memory while shopping, including the address of where she lived. The hospital delivered the aggravating sad news. She was diagnosed with the Alzheimer's disease, forcing the girl to be institutionalized after almost drowning herself in the lake near their house. The guy did not stop his unconditional love for her, bringing the young lady home was probably the best decision he had made as they lived happily ever after.'

Their journey slowed down gradually, the elder sighing at once. 'You know something? Every moment spent in love is precious, but the most precious moment is the one where you manage to win over the girl. And Joshua was so lucky that he got to experience that moment every single day. Maybe he had learned the tricks or perhaps they were truly soulmates because there were some bonus days in his life when the girl recognized him.'

The prickly tears formed on the bottom lines of the elder woman's eyelids as she heard the unexpected conclusion to the tale. 'How?'

A strong grip was formed around the woman's hand that joyful afternoon, hearing the wheat plants making sounds with their movements as the elder spoke at his earnest. 'Because whenever the guy held the young lady's hand again, she tended to recall every single bit of her past and especially that one stranger in her life. Do you remember, honey?'

Those beautiful hazel eyes that Joshua had fell so hard for were gazing at his older self right now, touching his cheek carefully as she came near his crooked frame. 'There are days when I directly identify that stranger, but you did not recognize that it is your bonus day today.'

As the aged lovebirds smiled throughout their heartfelt tears, Joshua kissed the inside of his beloved wife's hand before moving to peck the upper side as he held it captive in his grasp. 'You made a fool out of me again.'

Nothing has changed in the long-lasting years that they had lived together, health issues made it only much more difficult than both had expected. The genuine smile on her lips was transferred over, the elder feeling his heartbeat racing miles at that unique view. 'I do not have to try too hard. God made you pretty foolish to begin with Joshua.'

The elder gently tugged his wife into a warm hug, holding her head with one hand as he whispered to the sky. 'And that is why I still miss you.'

Sometimes, the greatest journey is the distance between two people.

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This one got me on an emotional rollercoaster. Yeah, it is a tearjerker story inspired by a Bollywood movie called "U, Me Aur Hum" starring Ajay Devgn and Kajol. 

I do not know why but this film (I watched it maybe 10 years ago or something) came into my mind a couple of days ago. And when I saw a couple walking hand-in-hand together through a field during driving, I knew that I had to write it out.

Joshua, I love you, the whole Caratland loves you too, so hold on tight <3

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Love,

dahliainjeolmi01