In the Shade of the Countryside... A Love Story Untouched by Time

In the Shade of the Countryside... A Love Story Untouched by Time

In a quiet village where green fields stretch endlessly, and the earth breathes in the fresh scent of crops, I grew up, absorbed in studies and work. My childhood was a blend of innocence and ambition, but fate had scripted a page that still lingers in my heart, even after all these years.

There was a girl—our neighbor—around my age. She wasn’t like other girls; she had a shy gaze, softened by the countryside’s purity and culture. We exchanged glances without words, bound only by a pure feeling that time could never tarnish. Our days were adorned with labor and earnestness as we tended the land, protecting it like a piece of our souls. She was the eldest of her sisters, while I was a young man engrossed in books and crops.

We lived this way, spending time together in the fields, with me looking after her as though she were my sister, as we silently moved through our days. I focused on my studies and dreams while she stayed close to her father, filling the gap left by the absence of a son. When I entered university, I became even more occupied with my studies, returning to the village only for weekends. She would always wait for me, that patient girl who never dared to say a word about her feelings. But my mother noticed what I could not see, often hinting with a simple “perhaps,” which stirred a sea of thoughts within me.

One holiday, I looked at her and asked her age. She smiled and replied, “Ask yourself; I’m as old as you are.” It dawned on me then that I had been oblivious, that maybe I should have recognized her feelings. But to me, she was a sister, and my dreams were yet to be realized.

I told my mother I needed to finish my education, to pursue engineering, then a master’s, then a doctorate. My mother understood, but my friend, that young girl, quietly withdrew, as if she grasped the scale of dreams filling my mind. Gradually, she began to disappear from our gatherings, even as many suitors came asking for her hand. She turned them down, claiming she wanted to stay by her father’s side.

Years passed, and her younger sisters got married, but she remained by her father. By then, I had completed my master’s degree, and I was nominated to pursue my doctorate at an American university. I felt it was time to make a decision, so I resolved to ask for her hand. When I told my mother, she visited her, returning with joy lighting up her face; that girl had been waiting all those years.

I became engaged to her, and we married in a simple ceremony filled with the echoes of the countryside and memories of our youth. Then we traveled together to America, where a new chapter of our lives began. There, my wife decided to start fresh, resuming her studies, which had ended at the intermediate level. And I stood by her side, just as she had stood by me for so long.

I completed my studies and began working at an engineering firm, while she continued her education and raised our children. Every day became a link in a chain of love, patience, and mutual support. That is life; when you find someone who shares your dreams and your patience, life becomes full of meaning, and the stories that grow in the heart remain untouched by time.