Christina's Curiosities

A boy, and a girl. A boy, and a girl.

A blonde boy, with a crooked smile and dimples in both cheeks. A brown-haired girl, with a crooked smile and dimples in both cheeks.

The sun was bright, the sky was blue, so blue that she might even have been able to see the color of their eyes if she had tried hard enough.

Weeks had passed since the last time they had laid eyes upon each other. Weeks of all sorts of troubles, both big and small. The long days in which they had blamed themselves for not having thought of a way to elude the guards that had followed them everywhere in order to keep them apart. The short nights in which they had blamed themselves for not having done something more radical than sneaking into each other's houses through windows. And the days and nights in which they didn't know what to blame themselves for anymore (and weeks more would pass before they could stop blaming themselves altogether). They were tired of it all - tired of being tired - but most of all they were tired of not being together, as if somehow it would be easier to bear if they were at least able to reject each other's company.

They walked on the dusty path towards town after weeks of hiding elsewhere - weeks in which they had been unable to get anything done, but still afraid to let go off their homes for fear that someone might try to take them away from there; perhaps never return - fearing that one day their parents might find out about their love if they left home too often. It was the kind of fear that never leaves you alone, no matter how much you try to avoid thinking about it: like the rain that never lets you forget that summer is over or the cold wind that never lets you forget that autumn is here, even when it's early springtime.

They knew that if anyone saw them now walking together hand-in-hand down the road, no one would be surprised: she was just another one of his girlfriends who he was probably trying to teach some manners by taking her on a walk along the riverbank; he was just another one of her boyfriends who she probably wanted to impress by showing him how well she could sing; nothing more than two young lovers holding hands while strolling down a road lined with trees during sunset... But still, a part of them doubted this possibility as much as they hoped for it: perhaps there would still be someone around who remembered how things used to be just a few years ago when even such an innocent scene could have led straight into darkness?

Their silence spoke volumes: every word that didn't need to be said was telling them that everything would be okay once again. The words that mattered most were these: 'I love you' repeated again and again with every glance exchanged between them as soon as their eyes met again after weeks apart: ... though those three words were only echoing back the same three words whispered by each lover into their beloved's ear whenever they finally found themselves alone together after weeks apart: 'I love you.'

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He was seventeen years old when he first showed up in town with his mother. They came from another village several miles away where his mother had been born and where he now lived with his aunt after his father died fighting against the Germans during World War II. His mother didn't want him staying there by himself without at least trying to find some relatives nearby whom he could live with instead; so they packed up their bags and set off on foot looking for family members who hadn't left town yet while hoping to find work somewhere else soon enough (they ended up finding work at a farm just eastwardly along the river). He spent many years living on his own after his father died - working in fields during summer and hunting ducks along the river during winter - until he finally found those relatives close enough for him not have to worry about being alone anymore: what good did it do him now anyway? He didn't care about living by himself anymore; he would have liked nothing better than living with someone else instead! Someone else especially who loved him back just as much as he loved her... Someone who always made him smile whenever she showed up unexpectedly at his place late in night or early in morning... Someone who sometimes gave him hope when he felt like giving up on life... Someone whose face always looked so beautiful under moonlight... Someone whose presence always made everything feel right again... Someone whom he wanted to spend all his remaining years with... She wasn't just another girlfriend anymore! She wasn't just some girl he'd met by chance! She wasn't just some girl he'd happened upon while strolling down the path along River Lomello! She wasn't just some girl he happened upon while returning home late at night! She wasn't just some girl he happened upon while returning home early in morning! She wasn't just some girl from another village! She wasn't just some girl from somewhere else! She wasn't someone else! She was The One Girl In His Life!

And now here he was walking hand-in-hand down path towards town with her after weeks without seeing her face brightening up under moonlight - moving closer towards something good despite all odds stacked against them! It felt like nothing more than yesterday when they first held hands while strolling down this very same path beneath evening glow! But then again it felt like forever since then; forever since those days when they still went around barely noticing each other's presence despite throwing longing glances across streets at times; forever since those days when all they did was watch each other's backs without daring say even one word; forever since those days when everything felt like it would end today even though it didn't end today then; forever since those days when everything felt like it wouldn't end today even though it ended today then; forever since those days when everything seemed so hopeless although nothing ever seemed hopeless ever since then... But then again here they were walking hand-in-hand down path towards town after weeks without seeing her face brightening up under moonlight - moving closer towards something good despite all odds stacked against them! And what did any amount of time matter anyway? If only time could turn back... If only time could turn back... If only time could turn back so far that...? That what? That nothing bad ever happened...? That nothing bad ever happens...? That nothing bad happens...? That nothing bad will ever happen...? What did any amount of time matter anyway? What did any amount [of] anything matter anymore?! Everything feels right again! Everything feels right again because she is here walking beside me hand-in-hand down this dusty path towards town after weeks without seeing her face brightening up under moonlight - moving closer towards something good despite all odds stacked against us! Everything feels right again because she is here walking beside me hand-in-hand down this dusty path towards town after weeks without seeing her face brightening up under moonlight - moving closer towards something good despite all odds stacked against us... But then again everything feels right because we are together now no matter what happens next provided we stay together until we die provided I can stay alive long enough until we die provided I don't end my life prematurely out of despair for not being able [to] see her brightening up under moonlight...