The Man Who Waited

An old man wanders down the sidewalk past the crowded New York street. Downtown Manhattan is always crazy this time of year, but he likes to get out of his apartment and people-watch as much as he can. He's about three blocks away from the grocery store he's headed to when he sees her. It can't be her though, could it? You see, when he was younger in his mid-twenties, he met the one. Her name was Elizabeth and she had just moved to his hometown in Valdosta, Georgia. She was everything a guy could have hoped for and he instantly knew she was it. They met and fell in love but her dad was in the military and moved a lot. They got to spend one summer together and as quickly as it started, it was over.

He held out hope for all of these years that he would get to see her at least one last time. He always said that he used his entire youth thinking about her and never moved on. Right after Elizabeth moved he sought out a witch in his hometown for a love potion. This love potion wasn't like all of the others, though. It was a special one where the person who took it got to live as long as they could until they were reunited with the love of their life. It's a tricky potion because you only live 24 hours after you are reunited and you only have 24 hours to make up for a lifetime. The upside to this is you could live to be 300 years old until you finally see them again.

He catches up to the mystery woman and yells, "Elizabeth! Is that you?" The beautiful woman quickly spins around. She has aged but he could tell that she is his Elizabeth. She smiles and runs to him without even thinking twice. They hug and embrace and the old man tells her how long he has waited to see her again. She agreed and said they she never stopped looking for him. He tells her of the love potion and how they have 24 hours to catch up and get to know each other all over again. She was sad at first but then realized that they have the opportunity to make it the best hours of their life. The time went by so quickly and the end was near. They looked at each other for the final time and the old man said, "Now that I've finally laid my eyes on you, I can die peacefully." He rose to heaven and Elizabeth joined him a few years later where they were reunited again, but for eternity.

Author's Note:

This story is based on the story Rama Visits Sharabhanga Tiny Tales of the Ramayana Part B. I loved this story when I read it and really wanted to make it into my own. In the story, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit a rishi named Sharabhanga. The old man Sharabhanga spent his whole life waiting to see Rama with his own eyes. He looked at Rama and said now that he has seen him he can depart and stepped into the fire. From the flames a young Sharabhanga emerged and rose to heaven. I made it into a love story kind of and switched the character Rama's gender into Elizabeth. Once the old man laid eyes on Elizabeth and was content, he rose to heaven like Sharabhanga did after seeing Rama. A lot of times we meet people in life who are the right person but come at the wrong time. If there was a potion out there that would let that right person come back at the right time, would you take it?

Bibliography: Laura Gibbs: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana Part B

Image Credits: Older Couple Stock Photo