It's a Surpise!

I wanted to obfuscate what this post is really about for the introduction because it’s a surprise. Today is our 14th wedding anniversary and I’m seeing how carefully my wife is watching my Substack posts (mwa·ha·ha·ha). This is a short story about choosing long lasting love.

Amor, if you’ve read this far, I love you. Happy Anniversary!!

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash

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There’s Always More To See

In a time long ago, when the lifespan of a human was measured in centuries not in single years, there lived a man by the name of Ardentimus. Ardentimus and his wife Inspiria had been married for 99 years. Their anniversary was five days away. For some time Ardentimus contemplated what gift to give his love to celebrate 100 years of a shared life. As the day of celebration grew closer Ardentimus’s mood grew poorer, for he had found no inspiration and feared whatever gift he did choose would be a disappointment. 

Ardentimus’s friend Mercurio saw his mood and asked, “Ardentimus, what bothers you?”

Ardentimus replied, “ Five days from now, 100 years of marriage Inspiria and I will celebrate. Yet, I have no gift.”

Mercurio chuckled. Of all the things Mercurio thought he knew, he thought he knew love the best. In his second 100 years of life he’d been married four times. A fact Mercurio wore with pride. “Ardentimus, I can help you with this. There is a secret I’ve learned after falling in love so many times. A secret which has helped me when I was in similar situations to the one you find yourself in now.”

Ardentimus looked up at Mercurio suspiciously, he knew Mercurio’s history and said very politely, “Mercurio, I believe we have different ideas about love, I’m not sure your experiences will be very helpful for me.”

“Arde….please hear me out. I’ll tell you what I know and then you decide what you want to do.”

“Fine Mercurio, go on…”

Now that he had Ardentimus’s permission, Mercurio began his short tale. 

“It was either my second or third union, and I was stuck on what gift to give my wife. I took a hike through Contemple Pass, as I’d heard about it once before, the Pass is clearly marked and it ends at a pristine and serene lake with the bluest water you’ll ever see. 

When I reached the lake I sat on the shore and sighed loudly, “what gift should I get my love?”

Then, I heard a question, “what do you want to get for her?”

I jumped to my feet and ran in a circle, because I didn’t know where to go.

“Who said that?” I shouted.

“The lake” was the reply.

I started to walk away under the impressions that I had gone mad and these were my last moments of life. The only reason I stopped was because I thought, ‘what do I have to lose’? I turned to the lake and said, “Lake, I am quite an accomplished lover, but I’m in a bit of a quandary. I know not what to get my wife and our 25th year of marriage is approaching. I want to buy her something fancy. Do you have any advice?”

The lake was silent, so I waited. I waited for hours and still no response. At this point, I was convinced I was mad, so I stormed off upset that I’d wasted this valuable time talking to a body of water.”

Ardentimus cut in, “I’m not really seeing a point to this story Mercurio, how is this going to help me…?”

Mercurio smirked, “You didn’t let me finish. When I got back to our village I found two of the most beautiful earrings made from the finest gems…”

“What, how!?” Ardentimus shouted.

“That’s the crazy part Arde, an eagle flew by and simply dropped them in my path on my way to the front door. In awe, I bent, picked them up, walked into the house and handed them to my wife. She loved them! I’m such a romantic genius, right?”

“Genius seems a bit strong Mercurio, but I’m curious to visit this lake. Perhaps the magic that helped you will also come to my aid.”

Ardentimus looked to the sky and saw that it was not yet midday, so he shrugged and thought ‘I think I’ll just go now, if it’s a failure then I’ll have a few days to think of a new plan.’ Ardentimus took the one hour hike to the lake, which sat at the top of a small incline. Unlike Mercurio, he didn’t immediately flop down on the lake’s shore. He was curious to see if there was a source to this magic so he walked around the entire lake, which took an hour more.

When he’d finished hiking the circumference of the lake, Ardentimus was tired, so naturally he flopped down on the shore. He took a deep breath and said, “Hello, lake?”

“Yes?” the lake replied.

Ardentimus expected a more imposing voice than the one he heard. This voice was a whisper, it almost seemed like he wasn’t hearing it, but thinking it. “What should I get my wife for our 100 year wedding anniversary?”

“What do you want to get for her?” the lake replied.

“I don’t know. ” Ardentimus answered.

“I do. ” the lake said.

Ardentimus waited for more, but the lake never spoke again. Our weary and frustrated traveler got up to leave right away because he remembered Mercurio’s story. He was anxious to get home to see if the magic would work, the whole while hoping that it worked before the day of celebration.

As he descended the hill his vision began to blur and then everything went completely black. Ardentimus, desperate for a solution, tried to open his eyes, but they were already open. He was far away from the village and couldn’t bear to think about navigating the terrain without his vision. Still, he had to try. He was almost immediately disavowed of the idea he could walk back blind. In his first 30 steps after losing his vision he fell 17 times. 

Frazzled and afraid Ardentimus sat on the side of the path and waited.

As the sun started to set Mercurio started to worry about where his friend had gone. Even at a slow pace, Ardentimus should have been home by now. Without giving it another thought Mercurio went home to retrieve a torch and set off for the lake. After about an hour he stumbled upon Ardentimus.

“Arde…is that you? Why are you here, and why are you sitting in the dark?”

“Mercurio! It is me, I went to the lake like you said, but I must have done something wrong. On my way home I lost my eyesight and couldn’t make it back home.”

“What a cruel twist of fate this is!” Mercurio said.

“What time is it Mercurio?”Ardentimus asked.

“Ahh friend, the sun has set and my torch will not last for our journey home. We’ll have to sleep here tonight and make our way back in the morning.”

Ardentimus huffed, “as you say, but my Inspiria must be filled with worry, I failed to mention this trip and now I am stuck and have no way to tell her.”

Ardentimus laid down, rolled over and went to sleep. Mercurio sucked his teeth and followed suit, hoping that tomorrow his friend’s vision might be returned. 

Ardentimus woke with gusto, thinking his eyes were closed and that if he just cracked his eyelids the light would return. Yet, it was not so. Ardentimus mumbled dryly, “still blind…” Mercurio rolled over to see his friend sitting up slumped over. 

Mercurio ignored his friend's proclamation, “we really must be going, don’t forget Inspiria is waiting for you.” He got up and walked over to Ardentimus grabbing his arm and helping him up.

“Very well” was all Ardentimus said. 

The trip home took three hours and when the village people finally saw the pair of gentlemen headed home they gawked in amusement. Mercurio had grown so impatient with his friend’s lazy mozying that he hosted him up on his back. The two of them entered the city with Ardentimus being the beneficiary of a piggy back ride.

As they got closer it seemed all of the village children ran to greet them and lined up in a single file after Mercurio waiting for their turn. 

“Ride’s closed, this one isn’t light and I have no energy left!” Mercurio shouted.

Not a child moved, until they reached the village. Then, Mercurio chased them all off, roaring like a bear. 

Ardentimus just stood there, when Inspiria saw that he wasn’t moving she approached, “what is it dear, where have you been and what happened?”

“Inspiria, Mercurio told me about a lake with magical powers. I went there for ideas about what to get you for our 100 year wedding anniversary, but instead of receiving insight, I now arrive home blind.”

“But how?” she asked

“I do not know Inspiria, I do not know.”

The next four days the two of them lived as they would have lived, had they both had their vision. Aredentimus’s other senses grew keener and he noticed more about his home and his wife. On the day of their anniversary Inspiria rolled over, touched his face, and kissed him awake, “happy anniversary!” she said. 

Ardentimus yawned, opened his eyes and cried at the sight of his beautiful wife. His vision had not only returned but it was as clear as it had ever been. Ardentimus exclaimed, “truly the lake has served me well, I can see, and I can see so much more now!”

“What do you mean?” Inspiria asked

“Ah my dear, in these past 100 years I have overlooked so much of your beauty!” Ardentimus belted. 

“Have you? I feel you have loved me well, tell me what have you overlooked” Inspiria countered.

Ardentimus beamed, “Don’t worry dear, I’ll tell you all about it, over our next 100 years.”