Distant Star (A Short Story)

Six | Six

PARIS, 1945

Amelie's Point of View

THE old woman's question alone shook me to the core. How did she know that I had a connection to Gabriel, and what did she want to convey?

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion, feeling like a needle had pierced my heart upon hearing the name of my beloved once again. Desperately, I pestered the old woman I had just met, as if my whole life depended on her responses. "What do you want me to know about him? Is he alive? Is he looking for me? Please, answer me, and bring me to him, I beg you!"

The old woman took a deep breath and held my hand as we continued walking through the cemetery. After a long walk, she stopped and pointed me a grave, and I felt as though I was rooted to the spot I was standing on when I saw his name carved on the tombstone: Gabriel Laurent, Died on February 14, 1919.

"N-No, this can not be..." Tears began to flow down my cheeks as I trembled, unable to move, as if countless daggers stabbed my heart, weighing me down with sorrow. "This can not be! He disappeared during the Battle of Verdun in 1916! He never returned to me! I presumed him dead that year; that is why I left France to move on—"

"You are mistaken..." The old woman started to cry as well. "The reason he disappeared and never returned home at the end of the Battle of Verdun was because he was captured by the German forces and became a prisoner of war. After the Great War, Germany finally released him along with other captured French soldiers. Gabriel decided to search for a woman named Amelie Martin - it was you, but when he arrived at your house, you were no longer there—"

"I was already a year married to another man," I responded bitterly as tears continued to fell from my eyes. How foolish I was. So foolish. It would have only taken me two more years of sacrifice and waiting, but I was too impatient, and in doing so, I sacrificed my eternity. I believed he was dead, but he was alive during those times. I mourned for nothing and left France for nothing. If only I had waited for him, I would not be in England, and he would be the one I ended up with.

"He assumed that you were dead because of the war, just like you presumed him dead," the old woman continued. "It devastated him so much because he believed he had failed you - he thought he had succeeded in protecting France but had failed in protecting you. Ironically, on Valentine's Day of 1919, he died of a broken heart."

"It was supposed to be our fifth anniversary." And that was it. I could not bear it anymore, and my deafening cries echoed through the quiet cemetery. Trembling, I held Gabriel's tombstone, and my voice choked with emotion. "M-Mon amour, forgive me... forgive me for not waiting for you. I failed you. I failed you so much. And with that, I am truly sorry..."

I did not know if the Fates were playing with me because they were so cruel. I looked at Gabriel's tombstone, and I knew he was quietly sleeping below whilst I was here above, mourning him loudly. I also knew deep down that from the first time I slept tonight, I would never find peace, as I would carry the pain and bitterness of our lost love for the rest of my life.

Arthur was looking at me from afar, and little did he know that I was crying for my one true love. I lifted my gaze to the dimming sky, and I saw the moon and the brightest star side by side and perfectly aligned. At least in the heavens, we were not separated, and no one could ever separate us, not even a world war.

I lay down beside his tombstone and sang softly, "Twinkle, twinkle, you are that star, shining in the sky like art..."

"There are many sparks in the sky, but you chose the moon's glow - so bright. Twinkle, twinkle, you are that star, from the moon will never part... oh, how I wish." As I sang those words, I was ugly crying once again, for I could not deny the great sorrow and bear the pain of thousands of what-ifs. Even though I had almost everything, I longed to have it all with him.

"He was about to give you something in his return, and as his caretaker, I promised that I would keep this until I found his beloved, and now you are here. This has no more use, but still, you deserve to know this." I looked up at the old woman, and she gave me a tiny box that was covered with dust and debris. My hands were trembling as I opened the box, and my heart sank when I saw a sparkling sapphire ring with a sticky note that said, 'Will you marry me?'"

"I will marry you, Gabriel..." Heavy tears painted my face as I was catching my breath and put the ring in my left finger while looking at it with immense sadness and pain. "I will marry you in the afterlife."

Although our time together was short, I learned so many lessons from Gabriel. Some people might remain in our hearts, but not in our lives. I finally stood up and gathered my strength to bid farewell to my one true love. "I will be leaving again - leaving this country where I met and spent years with you - but I carry you with me. I carry you always because no matter where I am, whether I am in Paris, in Calais, or in England, our love story is forever marked in the heavens, safe from the destruction of earthly warfare."

"I will bury these with me, together with the other remnants of the love we once shared..." I touched the ring as I continued talking. "The withered petals of the first flower you gave me, the receipt of the gifts you bought me using your first paycheck, and letters you sent me during the Great War - everything that is a part of me, shall die with me."

My tears flowed even more as I uttered these final words. "I love you, Gabriel. If reincarnation exists, I promise that if I die, I will search for you until we meet again. Maybe in another life, we will make it."

And this was how I fell in love with a distant star.