Many Years

It had been many years for Judy and Ryan. As they walked slowly up to the hill, they gazed into the setting sun as the freshly fallen snow as it crunched beneath their feet. They reminisced about that last time they were here.

2 years ago a lively young woman named Judy ran into a distinguished young man called Ryan. She was going a million miles an hour down that hill on a sled. Halfway down she realised she couldn’t stop herself or change direction. There was a man standing at the bottom talking to some friends. She closed her eyes, swore under her breath and braced for the impact.

His legs had flown out from under him in almost a cartoon like way, making his friends laugh so much they too slipped and fell over.

Shaking his head and standing up as Judy did the same, he caught her by the elbow and tried to stop her from slipping around too much more. As she stood covered in snow, she almost slipped when she saw his perfect face of the man she just flew into.

“I am so sorry I didn’t realise the hill was so steep and that I would rocket down like that!” she bubbled whilst brushing the white powder off her coat, stifling a laugh. She smiled when he laughed waving away her apology.

“Look there are worse things that could happen,” he laughed as he looked closer at her face, on top of her perfectly formed nose, there was a snowflake. Just as beautiful and unique as she was, he knew from that moment, despite the snow he felt warmth spread through him.

After that, they got drinks at the local bar, Judy insisted on shouting the first round. Every week they would meet at that same bar. They spent all of this time laughing, little bit of drinking and a lot of food. They even shared a favourite food, it was lasagne; Ryan was always surprised about how much she could pack into her petite frame. He began to wonder where she was putting it, but they always ordered desert anyway.

It was the beginning of a wonderful time, they laughed at stupid jokes, cooked meals for each other (especially lasagne) and eventually fell in such a deep love they felt it would never die. Eventually they began to climb mountains and stop puffing when they got to the top. This was a shining moment for them as falling down hills seemed to be Judy’s specialty.

After what felt like an eternity of complete bliss, Judy started to fall ill. It took so much from her they thought she would never recover. Through hospital visits, scans, doctors appointments and frightening nights that Ryan thought would never end, he was there by her side through it all. She collapsed into his arms and he helped her lie down. She couldn’t stop shaking and was so ashamed to be like this in front of such a man; a man who was already so dedicated to her and was so concerned. He held her until she was all out of tears. Telling her things would be okay and that she could and would be strong enough.

Ryan felt like he was losing a part of himself through all of this, it took a lot from him not to fall apart at the sight of the woman he loved falling apart too. But together he knew they could hold together the pieces. He was so proud of his little fighter because god did she fight.

He made her happy at the slightest touch and she did the same for him. All Judy had to do was think of his smile and the way he kissed her. The way he held her and it felt like that hill slide all over again, terrifying and thrilling all at the same time.

She was scared but knew that he would be there for her on the other side.

She carefully looked at the mirror and saw the shadow of her former self, as she stared she breathed in and out, deeply and slowly. She could do this.

However all of this meant the end to their bar tradition, their mountain climbing and unfortunately their annual sledding adventure (Judy was planning on not running into Ryan the next time).

In the midst of their shared depression and in a quiet room of the hospital, Ryan and Judy simply held each other close. The doctor came in and they braced themselves for the bad news.

She was pale, skinny and weak but there was still a chance for her to recover if she stayed on a strict routine. This news brought them such joy they wanted to celebrate. They asked permission to go outside and do one more thing before her strict regime kicked in.

Reluctantly the doctor agreed, it was winter so they rugged her up with blankets, scarves and a beanie.

In Ryan’s biased opinion she looked adorable, her cheeks were all smushed up from all of the layers. He hadn’t seen her look this full in a long time and he smiled to himself as he led her out the door. She looked at him and the moonlight caught her eyes making them sparkle and shimmer.

Judy remembered hating being all bugged up, even though she felt warm, she felt like an overly large marshmallow and couldn’t move properly.

As Ryan led her out the hospital door, she noticed that she was looking at the same hill she crashed into him on. She glowed inward at the memory.

They looked at each other at the top of the hill and smiled at each other, Ryan placed a small shallow sled on the ground.

“Now this time let’s take it nice and slow,” he said softly as he placed a warm kiss on her now slightly frozen exposed cheek.

He helped her down to the sled and sat behind her hugging her from behind, cherishing this moment for the rest of his life, holding on to a love he thought would never die.