Our Love Story

When I was seventeen, my thoughts on love were based on naïve perceptions that were limited to my knowledge from friends, books and movies. I envisioned my Prince Charming with exaggerated perfection and found certain shallow traits like how good-looking he was, to be a must in my dream guy.

As I grew older and gained a deeper understanding of relationships, I decided to trust my heart. So when I met BF 1, I held on to my instincts and gave him my heart. It was a long distance relationship and when it eventually fizzled out, that first heartbreak was so bad it kept love at bay for quite a while... until BF 2 came along.

BF 2 proved to be another heart breaker! My older sister, who was then dating his best friend, introduced us and though we didn’t click immediately, I eventually fell head over heels in love with his gentle ways, kindness and sincerity. We were deliriously happy for a while until he reluctantly admitted to having insecurities about our relationship and me. And so I said good-bye; I was twenty then and very unforgiving. It also didn’t help much when I discovered that he had gone back to his ex, merely days after we broke up! He really got me wondering about love's true definition and I decided that I have yet to find my perfect guy.

After him, I lost all zest for life and love. Hopes of recovering in style went out the window. I went out of my way to be a serial dater and in my reckless attempt to forget my pain and rejection, I ended up with BF 3 after a girls’ night out in a club. Seven years older than me, his maturity was most becoming and we hit it off almost instantly. Apparently on a rebound however, I was hardly surprised when we separated after only four weeks.

It was time to rethink my whole outlook on love. It was also time for me to further my studies and so I went abroad, where I met BF 4. We remained an item until graduation. I was 23 then with a newly acquired degree in hand. I was eager to see what the world had to offer and any committed relationship I was thinking of having had to take a backseat to my need for success. We agreed to go our separate ways but remained friends for a while, before eventually drifting apart.

BF 5 took me on an exciting roller coaster ride. A romantic at heart, he was constantly expressing his love and devotion with flowers, love letters and dreamy poetry. The magic lasted a year before he furthered his studies abroad. Despite our best efforts to maintain a long distance love affair, it ended on a bad note after only a year.

By then, I was devastated and felt that my life was in total disarray. I nursed my wounded heart by going out each night, despising every loving couple I saw on the street, cursing Valentine’s Day and vowing to remain single for the rest of my life. I lost all faith in love and I thought there would never be sunshine after the rain. Pessimism was at its heights!

One fine day, after two long years of being single, I decided to accept Zeff’s invitation for coffee. Apparently, BF 2 had just returned from UK after 3 years there and Zeff, who's our mutual friend, had planned a small reunion for BF 2 and some of his friends, yours truly included. I hesitated briefly before deciding to join them. Six years had already passed since BF 2 and I last locked eyes. Besides, I was completely over him so there were absolutely no hard feelings left. Being nervous about a coffee session with an old "friend" was almost laughable, I thought!

With full confidence, I hopped into Zeff's car, somewhat excited to meet an old flame after 6 years. Zeff told me then, that we had to make a quick stop to fetch BF 2 since he was staying in the neighborhood too. This piece of news totally caught me off guard and I immediately panicked. My heart was beating furiously but for the life of me, I couldn't comprehend why!

When BF 2 got into the car, I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye! I continued averting his eyes when we sat down at Starbucks; all the while steering clear from any conversation about our past. It took a while, but once the initial awkwardness disappeared, I found myself warming up to his boyish charm and the familiarity of being with him and his friends again. We ended up having the most wonderful conversation that afternoon. By the time we finished our coffee session and Zeff had dropped me off at my place, I was left with mixed emotions and wore a silly smile to sleep!

The next day I awoke with an entirely different attitude towards life. The whole world seemed brighter and I was practically walking on air. Love didn't seem so bad after all! For the first time in years, I finally felt at ease. I felt that I had just come home to something or someone special. Though I didn’t know it then, that day was the beginning of a wonderful love story for me.

He didn't call for the next two days and I found myself feeling restless; wishing and willing the phone to ring. After four tormenting days, the much awaited call finally arrived and we ended up having coffee again, just the two of us this time! Without skipping a beat, as though no evil thoughts had ever transpired between us, we talked endlessly about everything that had happened in our respective lives since we said good-bye six years back.

And before I knew it, we were dating again! Though we could not fully grasp what was happening, we allowed love and our emotions to take its natural course. Several weeks later, one fateful night found us completely lost for words. I was thanking him for a wonderful time and while saying our good-byes, we suddenly stopped and found ourselves gazing into each other’s eyes, my hands in his. The silence was deafening as we both realized that we were falling in love for the second time, after years of separation! As intense as that moment was, it was equally amazing and totally unforgettable. Immediately after that, everything started falling into place and I knew in my heart that he was the one ... the missing piece of my jigsaw puzzle, the one that I've been searching for all these years.

I guess it's true what they say, "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If not, it was never meant to be." I do believe that we were destined to end up together for how else can you explain two hearts reuniting in love after 6 long years of being apart? Love definitely has a way of finding its way to your heart. In my case, it crept up on me twice. I was foolish enough to let it walk out the door the first time, so this time around ... I’m playing for keeps. Happy Anniversary to my darling B! :)



Happy anniversary to my BF 2, who is now my dear hubby B and my best friend! Thank you for being the wonderful person that you are. I love you for your support, your warmth and tenderness and most of all for believing in me and loving me the way I am. It has been a wonderful 6 years and despite life's trials and tribulations; I have loved every minute of being with you and wouldn’t have it any other way. With you, it's always one magical adventure!

Love always,