CHAPTER 31 – A Knot, Some Words and We’re All Done
First they were two: Adam and Eve,
Then, she bit that apple and took a sick leave,
One that will always in history remain,
As the longest sick leave ever to blame.
From the Garden of Eden they were thrown deep
Into the Land of Reality to become the black sheep.
Surrounded by fears, opponents, and rum,
Adam decided there was nowhere to run.
And so, in madness he went on to propose
And as a sign of true love he gave her a rose.
Eve did accept and showed her goodwill
By giving him children instead of taking the pill.
But one day, drunk, tired and covered in debt,
Adam said to his soon to be engaged spoiled brat:
My dear son, she might look slim,
Her parents rich and her smile brim,
But she might also not remain as such,
Will you then wanna marry her that much?
If you still do, and I hope you will
God bless this old, wonderful thrill!
You can love someone in many ways, and tell them you love them in even more, but in the end what really matters is what your love means to them. Is it worth anything? Does it make them happy?
I always thought that to love and be loved back is the ultimate source of happiness and energy. Maybe it’s a naive and an old fashioned way of thinking and today’s world is much more complicated than that.
But for me, his love will always be what the peaks are to the mountain, what the wings are to the butterfly, what the shade is to the forest, the water to the river, the sun to the day, the stars to the night, the flowers to the pasture, the words to the poem, the freedom to the bird, the ashes to Phoenix, the flamboyant colors to the rooster. It is Everything.
Between the Romanian Carpathian Mountains lies Transylvania, the land of medieval castles and painted monasteries, ancient caves and salt mines, tall peaks and deep valleys, steep gorges and glacial lakes, the land of Vlad the Impaler – Dracula, the “land beyond the forest.”
In Transylvania, time is frozen; the grass is still cut with the scythe and you can still see horse drawn carts with beautiful girls giggling as they sit on top of haystacks, and people wearing traditional costumes each Sunday morning on their way to church.
There, at the edge of an ancient forest, surrounded by bushes of wild blueberries, in the smell of pine trees, with me dressed in a simple white dress hand-embroidered with red cotton threads, wearing traditional leather sandals tied around my feet with a long, narrow strip and a wildflower crown on my head, Tomás and I said our vows. He was the best choice not in the whole world, but of my life.
“I cannot promise you I will love you forever and ever. Eternity is not ours to promise. But I do promise to love you each day I will tell you that.”
“Honesty! Let’s see if I can match that. I cannot promise I will make you happy. Happiness is a game of two. But I do promise I will try harder each day and if won’t succeed I will set you free.”
“Freedom! Hard one to beat! I promise to stand by you in joy and sorrow, because next to you, my nest is not a prison and I am not an inmate, but a happy traveler through life and marriage.”
“Commitment! The most difficult part for some, easy when one has you. If in heaven He is our God, on Earth you are my Goddess.”
“Magic! It’s what makes a city like Paris from grey to beautiful and an evening on the grass watching the lights of tour Eiffel from ordinary to quite special. I promise to be by your side, to believe in your dreams and never doubt they will become reality.”
“Support! Without it, lust is in vain. I promise to show you the way, but let you find your own, to be shield and sword, your slave and master, your surgeon and healer.”
“Friendship! The most powerful bond! I promise to always be myself: a dictator with the face of an angel lecturing you whenever you will make a boo-boo just so I can make you a better man.”
“Genuineness! Where else you would like to go when at home you can be yourself? I promise to love you when you are mad and even more when you scream for more!”
“Lust! The spark that turns friendship into love! I promise to love you even more when the screaming part happens!”
“I love you because a woman like you leaves no other option than to love her.”
“And I love you because a man like you leaves no other option than to love him back.”
“I take you, Dora, as my wedded wife, and I promise to love, honor, and respect you; to be faithful to you; and not to forsake you until death do us part. So help me God, one in the Holy Trinity, and all the Saints. Never be less. Always flower. Always wild.”
“I take you, Tomás as my wedded husband, and I promise to love, honor, and respect you; to be faithful to you; and not to forsake you until death do us part. So help me God, one in the Holy Trinity, and all the Saints.”
“Amen!”
“Not amen, silly! Amin! We’re in Romania! Let’s go have lunch! These vows are making me hungry!”
“Yes, dear!”
“And then, I need a shag!”
“Yes, dear!”
“And a good night’s sleep!”
“Yes, dear!”
“Stop this “yes, dear” thing! Try the next one: I am sorry, dear.”
“Yes, dear! I am sorry, dear!” he said and we burst out laughing.
Dora’s Journal Notes
- If you have to ask for love, you’d better look somewhere else.
- In a relationship, security without freedom values nothing, but freedom paired with security is everything.
- Where true love exists, marriage is optional.
- As lovers, not soldiers, we should do things out of love not out of duty.
- Life of a man: the wife is always right and when she’s not, his mother is.
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