Farewell Night

The scented candles in the room began to melt into the wood table. Warm vanilla scents began to fade through the dark room. The atmosphere of the room was serene that made the elder woman sleep peacefully on the bed with her husband, George, holding her frozen hands tightly. George couldn’t help but to stare at the magnificent night sky in the large windows right above both of them. The stars in the night sky were gleaming, shimmering, twinkling, and George could find his own serenity here, especially with his sweetheart beside him. It felt like the world were just meant for both of them, or maybe it was. 

This type of night reminisced him of his lovely adolescence years. Back in those delightful days, George and Margaret loved to be drowned into those stars in the night sky, they thought that gazing at those stars kept them wondering, felt some sort of fascination, or even fell into each other's admiration. Thus, when they were on a date, gazing at some stars was always on the list of the date. It became one of their routines. 

Nevertheless, even after both of them married and had children, they still made time to run like kids into the rooftop or even the balcony just to stare at the stars. Their sons and daughters were once bewildered at their own parents, but as they grew up into adults, they understand their parents more than ever. 

Margaret and George met at the elegant party. The party was charming and merry, all of the fancy people were chattering and laughing. Margaret was talking with her colleagues, back in the days she used to be an ambitious person and quiet a workaholic young woman. She wasn’t a wealthy person, hence she tried to find some vacancies from the fancy party that was full of affluent people. Whilst George on the other hand, was all alone at the party, swallowing all of his gloomy thoughts into the glass of champagne. He was upstairs, right in between the stairs to the party, while staring at the party. He was hopeless, he wanted to run away as far as he could from this place. These kinds of elegant, fancy, extravagant things started to make him nauseous. George has always dreamed to be a normal person who lived in the country side with woods all over the house—with someone who will love him dearly, not from his wealthy side. However, his parents disapproved of him. All his parents wanted was only wealth and a proper woman to be on his side for a lifetime. 

George’s depressed thoughts immediately disappeared when he laid his eyes on the woman with her simple beige dress. He slowly concentrated his gazes into the beautiful woman, all he could see was only her auburn hair from the back before she turned around to smile at her colleagues. He wanted to call himself a dramatic man that day, but he felt like his heart was burst into some kind of nirvana inside, and he heard some whispers saying that she was the one. George pulled up all of his courage and went downstairs before he greeted the sweet young lady. 

After that pleasure night, they both started to gained some chemistry together and dated. Margaret truly showed George the world outside that was full of contentment and dejection. She made him into a different man, George was finally awakened by his inner euphoria thoughts that were sleeping inside his mind for all of these years. Nevertheless, George’s parents instantly disapproved of their fondness when George promised himself to marry Margaret since Margaret wasn’t a woman with much money inside. Thus, George was irritated by his parent's responses. 

Margaret thought that perhaps they should separate, but George was quick to disapproved her thoughts since their incessant love was already permanently tattooed on both of his mind and body. He couldn’t lose a woman that he truly loved and continued to walk on his dull journey again all by himself. George was scared at the thought of repeating that fancy routines, moreover, what he exactly feared was losing Margaret.

When we were young, we were blinded by love, and all our minds were full of rebellious thoughts. So that’s how both of them did, they ran away together and lived in the most comfortable place they have ever lived in their life. Both of them were married in private and lived in a cottage house that was full of woods, just as George desired, until they welcomed their first newborn baby. 

People always thought that love could die, or perhaps it could, but for George and Margaret, their love never vanished from each other. Of course, they had some arguments and a lot of disagreements, but their pure love swiftly covered their demons inside. Sometimes George wondered about his life if Margaret didn't exist. Will he still be able to live in that way?

“Georgie?” Margaret's soothing voice shattered George’s night thoughts as he quickly sat up from the bed and checked on his beloved wife. “Yes, love?” George asked. Margaret’s eyes were both still withered from her sleep, whilst she hugged her husband tightly. 

“Why aren't you asleep yet?” 

“I was thinking about us,”

Margaret immediately beamed at his answer, the wrinkles on her face pulled up while she gazed at her husband dearly. “What were you thinking about?”

George chuckled deeply, stroking his wife’s hair gently. “About how we met and wondered about how my life could have been without you,” he told her. Margaret only smiled softly and stared at the stars above her. “If we didn’t meet back at the party, our lives would obviously become dull and different. And also—” Margaret suddenly sat up on the bed and put her palm on his chest where the heart was placed. 

She felt his beating heart grow stronger when she touched him gently. “I will always live right here,” she said in her low voice. George couldn’t help but smile fondly at his love and felt his tears were coming before placing them back into sleeping position. “I love you,” George said.

“I love you, my dear” was the last thing Margaret said before she closed her eyes and continued her journey into the stars in the sky. George’s tears were coming before he hugged her tightly, never wanted to already leave her.

“Let’s live under those stars together, Margaret” George whispered, slowly closing his eyes, and all he could see was the stars of the starry night.