Fairytales

We all meet couples that we can’t help but envy. They seem so happy together, so in love that it mocks the single folks. They are so well matched that the greatest of cynics can’t help but feel a bit of jealousy.

They started dating in the early years of high school. He graduated a year ahead of her and went on to play college ball. She followed him. Their high school romance endured the awkward college transition years, and in their final year, he proposed. A few months after graduation, they were married and started a new life close to both their families.

I only know them by face and name, but lately I find myself imagining what their relationship was like. They probably were giddy teenagers in love and the object of jealousy for other high school girls. He probably took her to dances and she probably cheered his name proudly at games. Even in high school, their friends probably guessed they would eventually get married. They probably did too.

Then they took their relationship into a different world during college. Maybe at times it wasn’t easy. Maybe he was enticed by the buffet of college girls and wonder what life would be like as a single man.

She may have let her eye wander a time or two as new people came into her life. Or maybe she was ready to settle down with him and frustrated that he may never want to take their relationship to the next level.

Maybe they fought and sometimes doubted if their love would actually work. Maybe they weren’t sure if they could persevere through all the changes and self discovery that comes with college. They’ve may even took a break at one point during their relationship.

Or maybe, they never doubted. Maybe they always knew that they would spend the rest of eternity together. They may have never thought anyone else could compare.

Whatever bumps and bruises their relationship endured, it wasn’t enough to break it. One summer night, they stood before God, family and friends and planned to be together as long as they both shall live. I’ve seen pictures of this event, and he wore that look in his eyes – the look that told the world he was the happiest man on the planet.

They might have been made for each other, but they were not destined to spend forever together. Just about two weeks before their one-year anniversary, the man was tragically killed in an accident. This perfect couple didn’t even have a year at marriage.

This was two great people who wanted nothing more than to be with each other, and they didn’t get that. They only had 11 months, and now that poor girl must rebuild her entire life.

At times like this, it’s hard to believe in fairytales. When you see two people ripped at the seams like that, even a stranger can’t help but shed a few tears. It breaks the heart.

Although nothing that heartbreaking has ever happened to me, the only thing I can conclude is that everything does happen for a reason. We may not know answers, but we know the lessons. We can’t change life’s unfairness, we just have to accept it.

When tragedy does strike, all we can remember is the blessings we had. Maybe fairytales are real. They might not last forever, but they have shining moments, even if those moments only last 11 months.