In the middle of a dense forest, there is a small cottage with stone walls. A lovely, young, Irish couple is sitting at a rustic table on a cold afternoon. It is tea time, and they are ready to eat some fluffy biscuits with their green tea. In a profound, almost sepulchral silence, they devour everything. The atmosphere around them is a little bit heavy. The room in which they are looks abandoned; the wooden floor is covered with thick layers of dust, the small windows are fogged to the point of almost not allowing the passage of light, the deteriorated walls show huge grease stains, and the dark roof is leaky.

Their faces reveal strong anguish in their souls, as if no hope could be seen on the horizon. The pale man is wearing a shabby, brown jacket with a yellowish shirt, blue jeans and a pair of antiquated boots. The lady wears a blue, puffy, long, dress and a pair of patent leather shoes. They stay in their seats just looking at each other as if they wanted to say something really significant but none of them knows how to start. The words get stuck in their throats, and the only thing they can do is stare at each other. A tear rolls down the lady’s cheek and a stifled sigh escapes from her chest. The man brusquely hits the table, looks down and angrily bursts into tears. Both of them show their desperation and powerlessness by crying, but they cannot utter a single word. She stands up and slowly starts collecting the plates and cups to take them to the sink. There is no soap to wash, so she does her best to clean everything using only water. He is still sitting at the table, but there is no more sobbing. He remains silent and his haggard eyes are lost, as if consciousness of the outside world had been stolen from him. She walks towards him and slightly touches his shoulder. He takes her hand, stands up and, together Ryan and Chloe walk to the front door and leave the cottage…

Ryan Walsh’s paternal grandparents had left him their cottage in Clonmel to take it as soon as he gets married. Chloe Moore, his young wife, was astonished and extremely happy when she realized they were going to live in a house like that, so cozy and elegant. Everything looked so perfect on their wedding day! None of them ever imagined the terrible days to come, the dark hours they were going to experience…

They were plenty of presents, her dress and his suit were absolutely impeccable and pristine, an amazing cottage was waiting for them, and vast fields of barley crops would provide them enough money for the rest of their lives. Chloe was beaming and Ryan almost cried when he saw her so beautifully dressed waiting for him in the altar. It seemed as if nothing could destroy the sparks and the joy which surrounded this lovely couple. All the guests cheered to their lasting bliss and prepared them a magnificent party after the wedding, an event worth remembering for many decades.

Ryan and Chloe cannot believe what is happening to them. They still do not know how to face it. Just last summer they had abundant food, fancy clothes and every comfort imaginable. But everything changed radically and all of a sudden. At this instant, their house is falling apart and they have been forced to sell it. Heavy blizzards devastated their barley crops, leaving them without resources to sustain their luxurious lifestyle. They do not have even a penny to spend on food; now they only buy the cheaper foodstuff, what they need to survive. But their savings were not eternal and the only possession left to obtain some money was the cottage. They tried by all means to keep safe Ryan’s precious inheritance, but hunger was more powerful than any other sensation in their bodies. With bitter tears soaking up their faces, both bide a farewell to the place that has seen their best and their worst moments, their refuge for more than ten years. All the neighbors feel sorry when they look at this kneeling young couple so emaciated and saddened, wearing the tatters of what were once expensive garments. They have forgotten how to smile and are wrapped up in grief and sorrow.

Chloe’s relatives are extremely concerned about her miserable situation. Even though all of Clonmel town is suffering from the terrible devastation of the snowstorms, the Moores still have many other means to live opulently. The trouble is that Chloe’s family does not like Ryan at all; they gave their consent to the marriage just to please their beloved little girl. Chloe has been told that if she abandons Ryan, her parents will gladly take care of her again. That is the only condition she has to fulfill in order to be saved from her wretchedness. Not only her family but her neighbors and friends have been pushing her to accept this apparently amazing proposition.

Undoubtedly, she has refused over and over again the offer because she would never forsake her dear husband. She wants to be with him till death do them part, no matter what. Ryan perfectly knows that, and he loves Chloe as much as she loves him. He would like to stay with her, but his heart is telling him that he must seek the best for her. If she stays by his side, she certainly will die of starvation. Ryan has an extremely difficult decision to make because he does not want to let her go, but he has nothing to give her a decent future. He does not find the courage to tell her goodbye, but his heart breaks more and more every time he sees her so pale and weak from the lack of food…

They are living in a small cave now. When he was about to ask her to leave him, she was staring melancholically at the ground. He approached her in a very delicate way and took her hand. Unexpectedly, she weakly smiled and then fainted in his arms. He shook her and called her name repeatedly to make her wake up, but all his attempts were in vain. Full of desperation, he ran carrying her motionless body with him, looking for someone that can help them. He is so scared and run-down that he is running in circles. He is trying to save his dear Chloe, but he is going to nowhere. At a certain point, now panting, Ryan falls on his knees, looks at the sky and begins to sob. He puts his head to her chest. Her heartbeats have almost disappeared, and she is barely breathing. Very delicately, he leaves Chloe on the ground and embraces her tightly, crying profusely. Because of the adrenaline, he had not realized that he is almost as weak as she is. A slight dizziness invades his entire body, his vision is very blurry, and finally, he faints by her side…

A few moments pass and Ryan listens to a distant voice that is calling their names. Painstakingly, he gets up and takes Chloe in his arms again because she still sleeping. He sees a blinding glare but continues walking towards the voice. Suddenly, even more light surrounds them, the voice turns into a high pitched noise and a strange force pushes them. His eyes are closed while this is happening and when he opens them, he is a teenager again, but Chloe is not in his arms anymore. He looks around and realizes that he has returned to the day he saw Chloe for the first time. He is Clonmel downtown twelve years earlier! He cannot believe it… a new opportunity to start all over again with her! But he remembers everything about their future together, and it scares him very much. He does not want Chloe to suffer and probably die because of him. He makes a very hard decision. When he sees Chloe coming, he deliberately avoids their encounter. If they never meet, she will have a better life…

Five years have passed since the odd event that gave Ryan and Chloe an opportunity to recommence their lives. Ryan is working on a farm for a rich, old lady who lives in England. Ryan’s boss loves him as if he were her own son, so much that she decides to inherit all her fortune and lands to him. When the lady dies, Ryan becomes a powerful and influential landowner. To honor her memory and thank her for what she did for him, he decides to organize a huge ceremony for all her relatives, friends and employees. He expects to receive around three hundred guests in the mansion. He never imagined that among the visitors would be the Moore family, since the deceased landlady was the aunt of Chloe’s mother.

When Chloe enters the hall, Ryan is absolutely wonderstruck, shivering and sweating just because of her presence. He does not know what to do; he remembers everything about her, but she has not seen him even once since the incident. She approaches him and offers a handshake and without hesitation, he accepts it. As soon as Ryan touches Chloe’s hand, the expression in her face changes. She looks disturbed and tremulous now. Her memory is back! She pounces into his arms and kisses him on the lips. The crowd is shocked and murmuring, but the couple does not care about anything else but themselves. They look at each other with infinite tenderness and tears of happiness in the eyes. Now they can be together and have a very different but brilliant future instead of the one they lived before…

One month later, they were married. Nobody understands what has happened between them. How can they marry if they met just a month ago? But they already had their love story and now are able to continue it, improving some chapters and rewriting the ending, a very happy one this time…