- Author Unknown -
(Worth reading this)
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand
and said, "I've got something to tell you."
She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her
know what I was thinking.
"I want a divorce." I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me
softly, "why?"
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the
chopsticks and shouted at me, "you are not a man!"
That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she
wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could
hardly give her a satisfactory answer; I had lost my heart to a
lovely girl called Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which
stated that she could own our house, 30% shares of my company and the
car. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who
had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt
sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take
back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried
loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me
her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had
obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing
something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to
sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful
day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table
writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want
anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She
requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a
life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a
months time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to
recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.
She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of
our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was
going crazy.
Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd
request. I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed
loudly and thought it was absurd.
"No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce," she
said scornfully.
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention
was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day,
we both appeared clumsy.
Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His
words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting
room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms.
She closed her eyes and said softly; " don't tell our son about the
divorce."
I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door.
She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on
my chest.. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that
I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized
she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her
hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a
minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy
returning... This was the woman who had given ten years of her life
to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of
intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became
easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday
workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few
dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my
dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so
thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly
it hit me; she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart.
Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, "Dad, it's time to carry mum out."
To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an
essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come
closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was
afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in
my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the
hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her
body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter
weight made me sad.
On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a
step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I
hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office...
jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid
any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs.
Dew opened the door and I said to her, "Sorry, Dew, I do not want the
divorce anymore."
She looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead.
"Do you have a fever?" She said.
I moved her hand off my head.
" Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce."
My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value
the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any
more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our
wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart.
Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then
slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove
away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers
for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I
smiled and wrote:
'I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart'
The small details of our lives are what really matter in a
relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, the property, the bank
balance that matters. These create an environment conducive for
happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be
your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that
build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!
If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you, but if you do,
you just might save a marriage.
Relationships are made not to exploit, not to be broken.
Tue Jan 09, 2024 3:13 pm by notrex
Subject: A touching story 
