Summary

A man returns to a significant location from his past to honor the memory of his deceased love by building a house where they first shared a kiss.

Abstract

After nearly 25 years, a man revisits a meaningful place in Tennessee where he and his late partner shared formative experiences. He reflects on their youthful adventures, the first time they kissed in an old hunting shack, and the changes that have occurred since then. Overwhelmed with emotion, he reveals his plans to construct a home on the site of their shared memories, intending to place their ashes together beneath the pine trees that have grown tall over the years. This act is a testament to his enduring love and a way to reunite with his beloved on Valentine's Day 2024.

Opinions

The author has a deep sense of nostalgia and loss for the past and the person they shared it with.
There is a palpable regret for the accident that changed the course of his life and ended his partner's.
The act of purchasing the land and planning to build a house is seen as a way to heal and find closure.
The man views the growth of the pine trees and the changes in the landscape as a metaphor for the passage of time and the evolution of their love.
He believes in the significance of place and physical location in preserving and honoring memories of a loved one.
The decision to be buried with his partner under the pine trees signifies his desire for eternal togetherness and his commitment to their love story.

Micro Monday

I Promised You Forever

It’s time to fix what the world tore apart.

It’s been nearly a quarter-century since I last saw these old Tennessee hills. It’s got me a little choked up if I’m being honest. Never thought I’d see them again. And I sure as hell didn’t expect to find your memory in every tall blade of grass bending in the wind, or your shadow peeking out from behind every black walnut tree.

I’m smiling through the tears, though.

And I ain’t done much smiling lately.

I still remember when we found this spot in the summer of ‘98. We’d been driving backroads, enjoying the freedom of my new licence, blasting Weezer full blast, and drinking Peach Schnapps straight from the bottle when we came around that bend in the road right over there. You yelled at me to stop the truck. I slammed the brakes, thinking something was wrong. You jumped out and picked up a No Trespassing sign lying on the ground, holding it over your head like some kind of dare.

Before I knew it, you threw that old sign like a frisbee and disappeared into the darkness.

I was scared shitless. It was dark. The type of dark that still makes me uneasy. I just knew some ole boys would roll up with shotguns and shoot us for being on their land.

But you didn’t care. Adventure ran in your blood.

After a minute you called out for me, and because I didn’t want you thinking I was some sort of chicken, I followed your voice to the tree line, where I found you standing by an old rotted-out hunting shack.

Your crystal blue eyes were lit up like the Fourth of July. Full of beautiful danger.

We ended up kissing for the first time in that old hunting shack.

God, we were so young. Barely sixteen. Not a care in the world. Kids cosplaying as adults.

I wish you were here to see how much this place has changed. A couple of 2x4s in the weeds is all that remains of the old shack, and you’d be amazed at that strange circle of skinny pines where I first told you I loved you. They are all grown. A good forty feet tall. Back then, they weren’t big enough to make a good Christmas tree. Hell, even the old gravel pit, where I first touched your boobs, is all grown over.

Why did I buy that damn old motorcycle during our senior year? You warned me. Said you had a bad feeling. But I was too bullheaded to listen.

I’ll never forgive myself. All those plans we had. Gone because I was selfish.

I had to get away from here after the accident. Your memory haunted me, and I was a coward. Ended up staying with my dad up in Michigan. He got me a job as an electrician when I turned eighteen. At twenty, I married a nice girl. Her name’s Sheryl. She had a couple of kids already and I raised them as my own. We had a good life but divorced last year. Just drifted apart after twenty-five years and never found our way back.

Anyway, that’s enough sadness. Today is a happy day. Now, I’m not sure you all go by the same calendar up in heaven but it’s Valentine’s Day 2024 here on Earth and I got you a present. Something I wanted to get you since we first found this place.

I bought this piece of Tennessee countryside for us. Well, forty acres of it. The rest the state owns. But that’s okay. You know this place. Ain’t no one moving out here anytime soon.

I’m gonna build us a little house by where the old hunting shack used to be. Nothing fancy. Just a little place with a lot of windows looking out over the hills.

Figure it will take me about a year.

Once it’s done, I’ll go see your mom and get your ashes to bring out here. Then we’ll finally be together. And when my time comes, I’ll have us buried together beneath those old pines.

It only seems right to start eternity where our love story began.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.