30April
Im now thirty, and by the time I turned twenty Id already clocked ten years serving in the Armys overseas deployments. Id been wounded twice, yet somehow the Almighty looked after me. After the second serious injury I spent months in a military hospital, then I was sent home to my birthplace, the little village of Willowbrook.
Willowbrook had changed a great deal in those years, and so had its people. All my schoolmates were married, but one day I caught sight of Emily, a girl I barely remembered. When I left for the service shed been a shy thirteenyearold; now she was twentyfive, a striking beauty, still single. Shed never met a man shed consider marrying, and she had no intention of starting a family just yet.
Im a broadshouldered, sturdy sort with a keen sense of right and wrong, confident enough not to walk past a woman like Emily without a word.
Are you really waiting for me, and you still havent married? I asked, smiling at the gorgeous girl.
Perhaps, she replied, a faint blush rising, her heart fluttering.
From then on we began seeing each other. It was late autumn; we walked together along a narrow lane, leaves rustling underfoot.
Mark, my father will never let us marry, Emily said sadly, even though I had already proposed twice. You know my father.
What can he do to me? Im not afraid of your dad, I declared. If he tries to hurt us, the law will have him, and he wont trouble us any longer.
Mark, you dont understand my father. Hes ruthless and controls everything.
Arthur Whitfield was the most powerful man in the village. Hed begun as a businessman, but rumors now whispered of his shady dealings. He was stout, with a cold, haughty stare, and a reputation for cruelty. In his youth hed built two farms, raising cattle and pigs, employing more than half the villagers. Everyone bowed to him, almost to the point of worship, and he fancied himself untouchable.
My father wont accept our wedding, Emily continued, and he wants me to marry the son of his friend from the city, a rotund drunk named Vince. I cant stand him. Ive told my father a hundred times.
Emily, were living in the stone age. Who today forces a woman to marry someone she doesnt love? I responded, bewildered.
I loved Emily completelyher gentle gaze, her quick temper, everything. She felt the same.
Lets go, I said, taking her hand and quickening my pace.
Where to? she began to guess, but she could not stop me.
In the courtyard of the grand Whitfield house, Arthur was deep in conversation with his younger brother Simon, who lived in the adjoining cottage and was always ready to lend a hand.
Arthur Whitfield, I ask for your daughters hand, I announced. I wish to marry Emily.
Emilys mother, standing on the doorstep with a hand over her mouth, stared fearfully at her domineering husband.
Arthurs eyes narrowed at my audacity. He glared, but I met his stare straight on. He could not fathom where such nerve came from.
Get out of here, Arthur roared. Youre a fool, a lunatic. My daughter will never marry you. Forget this road, you soldier.
Well marry anyway, I replied firmly.
The villagers respected me, but Arthur knew nothing of war. To him, money was everything. Anger rose in me, my fists clenched, and Simon stepped between us, sensing a clash was inevitable.
While Simon tried to usher me out, Arthur shoved his daughter into the house like a child. He never forgave any defiance.
That very night, a fire blazed in Willowbrook, consuming the garage I had recently opened.
Damn it, I muttered, certain someone had set it.
The next night, under the damp autumn sky, I slipped quietly to Emilys cottage. Earlier that evening Id texted her, urging her to gather her things so we could leave together. She agreed. She tossed a bag through her window, then slipped out, landing gently in my arms.
By morning well be far away, I whispered. You have no idea how much I love you, Emily clung to me.
I feel frightened and uneasy, she admitted.
In ten minutes we were on the road. The wind rushed through her, making her shiver with excitement. Behind us, headlights flashedArthurs black Mercedes roared up, blocked our path and forced us to stop.
No, not this, Emily cried, curling into herself.
Arthur leapt out with two thugs, grabbed Emily, and beat me mercilessly before tossing me aside. They left, driving away in Arthurs car, while I lay on the roadside, bruised and stunned.
I managed to crawl home, spent a week in bed, and the arson case was dismissed as a faulty wiring. I understood everything now, but the fate of Emily haunted me. She didnt answer my messages; her number was dead.
Arthur shipped Emily to the city to stay with his sister Diana, giving her a decent sum of money and ordering:
Dont let her leave the house, no phone. If she returns, Ill take care of her any way I wish.
Bless you, Arthur, Diana muttered, disgusted by his cruelty. She set Emily up in a spare room, knowing she needed to hide until he cooled.
Whispers spread that Emily was to marry Vince in the city and would never come back. Time will heal, love. Find work, build a life, Diana advised.
Without Mark? Emily asked.
Without him, Diana replied.
Weeks later Emily discovered she was pregnant. Diana comforted her, urging secrecy.
Your father must never know, she whispered.
Emily wept, hating her father more than anything, desperate to tell me about the baby. She had no phone; Arthur had smashed hers. Even if Diana let her use hers, there was nowhere to reach me.
I hate my father, Emily shrieked. He isnt a man. Diana stayed silent; his cruelty was undeniable.
Time passed. I drifted through days, working, drinking, trying to forget, yet Emily remained in my thoughts. Meanwhile she gave birth to a healthy boy, Matty, who looked just like me. Her mother visited now and then, doting on her grandson. We kept the childs existence secret from Arthur; he never learned of the boy, never visited.
Four years went by; Matty grew bright and lively. One spring, Emilys mother arrived at Dianas house, slumped into a kitchen chair and burst into tears.
My husband is dying, she sobbed. They found cancer too late. Hed always been strong, never a doctor.
Emily stayed silent. Arthurs wife, present, wanted to tell him about his grandson but held her tongue. Arthur spent his final days in a hospital, surrounded by his loyal pals, while the village murmured that his cruelty had finally caught up with him.
He was buried in June. Emily did not attend; she could not forgive him. Only a few of his cronies turned up, some whispering, He treated people like rubbish; now heavens justice has struck.
During all this, I was away on guard duty, returning now and then. When I finally came back, Emily arrived after five long years. Her mother seemed a little steadier, having shed the bruises of Arthurs tyranny. She even took down his portrait from the wall.
Two weeks after Emilys return, she learned I was on another posting. A few days later she walked with Matty along a path by the woods. He chased butterflies, rolled in the grass, while she sat on a fallen branch, wind brushing her face.
A memory of our youthful love rose inside her, and suddenly she felt my presence.
Emily, I called softly, and she leapt, we ran toward each other.
I had changedmore mature, the sorrow still in my eyes, but the love never faded. She was still beautiful, a touch softer.
Mark, forgive mefor everything, for my father, for not telling you about our son. All could have been different. I never married Vince; that was a rumor he spread. I lived with Aunt Diana in the city.
I was stunned, but as Matty ran through the grass, I saw him and knew instantly he was my son, the spitting image of the boy in my old family photos.
Son, I lifted him high, laughing. My own boy! I wont let you go anywhere.
Dad, can you buy me a football? Matty asked.
Of course, lad. Lets get one straight away, I replied, looking tenderly at Emily, who nodded through tears.
I am grateful to destiny for bringing Emily back into my life. Fate smiles on those who give thanks, and it has now blessed us with a family we never imagined wed have.
Lesson: gratitude turns misfortune into fortune; never forget the value of a thankful heart.
