Confessions of a Romance Writer Lost Love

As an experiment I posted an add asking for online dating stories. To my surprise, I got a lot more than I asked for. It was an absolute no brainer picking this one as the first story in a series that I will present to you from time to time. I am sure you will agree with me, and make sure you read it all the way to the end, because it’s followed by a very important message.

There are all types of love, but the most precious in my opinion is the bittersweet kind. Romantic love keeps your heart pumping and your loins in tune. Unrequited love can be sad but also very motivational. Then there’s lost love, due to a tragedy or separation it builds character and makes us stronger. New love is exciting and old love is secure and reassuring. Selfless love is admirable, and selfish love is destructive. But by far, bittersweet love is a combination of them all, tasting the good and bad of all that life has to offer. Life isn’t fair. If you are naive enough to think that your life will be a joyride get over that quick. When it comes to the affairs of the heart, you will more often test the fires of hell, than bask in the light of heaven. Love is a struggle the hardest and most rewarding struggle of your life! But no matter how you find it hold on tight. Hold on tight my dear friends, hold on tight!

It was 1976 in Istanbul. Now at that time you could only find three kinds of people in Istanbul. Those that wanted to be there, those that didn’t, and those that were there for drugs. The majority of those that didn’t want to be there originally came for the drugs, got caught, and had no choice but to stay, in prison. They really didn’t want to be there. But there was also another group of people that had no choice, they were our service people. Some wanted to be there, some didn’t, and some never wanted to leave. Being in a strange place alone can be very unsettling so when one finds a familiar face, one that reminds them of home, the two tend to gravitate toward each other. In a time of loneliness it is very easy to find comfort in the arms of another, even though you may belong to someone else.

Now Love is a funny thing. It has a mind of its own. It makes its own decisions and its own choices. We have no say over who we will fall in love with; we are helpless under its power. One more thing, Love has a life of its own, you can’t kill it. It can only die a natural death, and sometimes Love never dies.

They were both alone in a foreign city. They both belonged to someone else. And neither of them had the power to fight the inevitable; they fell in love with an intensity so strong it was impossible to resist. With their respective significant others away in Greece and Italy, for a while, in a city founded on a new world order and dedicated to the undying love of a king for his queen, Love had its way and they knew true happiness. But as I have said before, life isn’t fair and the ones who did want to leave had to stay, and those that wanted to stay had to leave. He was called home, back to Virginia. But where there is Love there is Hope.

She followed….. Unannounced

There is a certain magic in the Middle East, after all it is the home of Aladdin. The crowded narrow streets, the smoke shops and the coffee houses gave the city an old world flavor. One cannot help but be overcome by the pungent aromas of fresh herbs at the farmer’s market and the salt sea air as it is bordered by water. Istanbul is the only city that is located on two continents and then there is the Hagia Sophia, once the largest unsupported structural dome in the world, symbolic of the infinity of the cosmos. Once a Christian church it is now a mosque. Its walls are lined with the words from the Holy Quran proclaiming the praises of God. It has withstood numerous earthquakes and is only reinforced by thin bands of iron. The city is full of Byzantine churches with their domes and arches a mixture of Greek, Roman, and Asian ingenuity and their golden icons of the Madonna and child. Their mosaic work is unsurpassed, but the city has one more thing essential in any bittersweet love affair, anonymity. Yes Istanbul is full of history, magic, and anonymity.

But a small town in Virginia, where the local sites include the local chapters of the VFW and the Red Cross, holds no magic, and in a place where everybody knows everybody else, there is no such thing as anonymity. The magic died. The red hot flames of passion that were fanned by the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea breezes gradually cooled down into an ember. The amazing thing about embers is they linger. They hide in the smallest of places. Slowly, gently they burn on with the slightest amount of air to sustain them. Held down by the threat of discovery they enjoyed a few weeks together, but eventually she left, she returned to Milwaukee, and once again the inevitable happened, life went on.

Who knows why we make the choices we do in our lifetime. She left to live her life in Milwaukee the outcome is still a mystery but he tumbled himself right into the world of the wild life and drugs. Wasted years, but all seasons come to an end, thankfully. A new marriage and the reality of fatherhood spotlighted the need for maturity. The boy died and the man stepped up and took his place. With a new family and the future ahead of him he had to make a life’s choice. It was then the blood of his ancestors called and he followed in their footsteps into law enforcement. He became a hostage negotiator and lived.

The Universe is marvelous and wondrous and also merciful. It blesses us with so many precious gifts, free will, opportunity, love, and second chances. When it comes to second chances don’t ever think you won’t get one, as long as you can throw the dice you’ve got another chance. Don’t ever give up!

His second chance came ten years later when the voice on the other end of the phone was hers. He was stationed in Richmond and she was to attend a convention the day after New Years. But opportunity and second chances don’t always work on the same schedule. Shortly after they had made plans to meet he was transferred out of town and had lost her phone number. They never did meet. Maybe it was just bad timing. He has been searching for her for years in vain.

That’s where all you dear friends can do me a big solid. Please post this story on your status and email it to your friends. Let’s help the Universe give them a second chance. It’s time to roll the dice!

Debbie, Rick is searching for you.

You can contact him at stolenmoments.janusgangi@yahoo.com



To be continued…..