still the one

once a while, it is nice to be reminded how great to be loved and to be in love..of course with the love of your life la kan...

....
the path was not as rough as some people may have gone thru.. but, whenever she looked back, she keep thanking God for they found each other.

she could hardly remember the exact date and timing when was the first time they met.. her coursemate always mentioned his name.. she was sure of that she heard his name as early as two and half years before they met..when they met for the first time, he was just a friend of a friend. her coursemate was waiting for her in the car, and there he was, standing in front of the door (did not show any interest on her), waiting for her to put on her striking red Nike.. and she did not remember the details after that.. she vaguely remember; they were having their lunch at one of the 'ikap's' kebab shop at rusholme.. and that's all she remember; other details, she could hardly recall..

it was winter 1999. her family (minus her dad as he was engaged with special assignment back home) was in caingorm.. it was a lovely cottage that they've rented.. nope, he was not there.. and she knew she has few close friends in her phonebook that she could call up - to check whether it's gonna be raya or not the day after.. she called him.. her justification 'he's in london, so, he might get the news faster than anybody else'.. yarr rriigghtt... her assumption was not right..but that was the start.. when he said hello, she can feel the sparks..ouch.. 

her sister was indirectly the cupid. she (her sister) stayed back and decided that she (her sister) wanted to explore london like all tourist should do. yes, she could always called the students' hall for cheap hostel rate, she resorted to call him.. and, without realizing, there they were, on their way to euston, and he was there.. with that bulky greenish-greyish jacket and the 'chapman' green cap. he looked soooo like a chinaman came from the Chinatown.. and she was smiling.. her heart was jumping.. and that weekend, she could still replay it over and over in her mind.. three of them were having nice weekend.. photos everywhere.. the buckingham, the dome, the trafalgar square, the hyde park.. they went almost everywhere, and once a while there were occasion they 'accidently' brushed each others' hands and shoulders and she knew she's been electrocuted.. and she was loving it.. of course, that get-away, her sister was there, hanging around.. 

that was the start... he was supposed to be in a relationship with a girl he knew during summer, and she was supposed to be committed to her then-four-years-boyfriend. the (ex)girl of his: nothing much that can be talked about, but the (ex)boyfriend of hers: tough luck, there's a reason when the book says "never take things for granted"..

their relations merely through the lines, the free minutes call that the phone provider gave.. and mIRC, ICQ was so popular back then that they could hardly wait to be connected whenever they got the time.. occasionally, they would admit they misses each other, but the first three months purely get to know phase and they talked about everything and anything.. the third month, the easter break, he took the train to piccaddaly.. she has expected the trip, she didn't expected that he would call and said the train was strainded midway.. and it was a nice surprise when he was actually at the train station, and the made-up story about the stranded thingy was sweet.. and he brought 'sugar' (white fluffy teddy) with him..

ideally, he was supposed to stay over his mate's place.. it turned out differently.. and that night, Mar 30th 2000, they were an item.. didn't know about him, but she was on cloud nine.. he was all she wished for.. the look, the intelligence, the nice conversations and arguments they had, the romantic side of him, the extra scholar allowance in his bank..she was head over feet over him. 

and they were in love, madly, deeply. they were frequent travellers london-manchester. they had good dinners: kaka, khan's, new season, thais, indians, chinese... for a student who solely depend on the scholarship, he sure had spent a lot to her.. he brought her to paris.. learned french from McD menuboard (and they knew boisson was fish).. he bought her gifts.. the gold bracellet was sweet.. and what made it sweeter (or he dared), the bracellet was on an alien-doll (named Ali) creature that he put just on the pathway where people walked..she was stunned that Ali was meant for her.. he bought her flowers.. some for i was sorry, some was for no-occassion...the white bouquet he hid inside his wardrobe was nice gestures.. he cooked for her.. he stayed up all night, picking small white flowers to decorate the hand-made card he made for her... the getaways to birmingham, brighton.. the picked a stranger to prove he was telling the truth..and the list went on and on.. she did things too, but she recalled more on what he did rather than what she did.. and she always grateful.

ahhhhh.... all the nicest things happened when two people were in love.... 

of course there were hiccuped in their love story.. if not because of his believe to stay strong, they were long gone... and thinking back, she was sooooo thankful that he insisted to stay in the relation.. knowing him, he knew he can have anybody he wanted..especially not to stay with someone who was not loyal to his love... he chose her... and she wanted him to know she was soooo thankful.

six years ago, they tied the knot.  this march, they are celebrating their tenth anniversary since they were an item... their love stories go on.. only one her, only one him..

there were rough patches.. the careers, the kids, the i-wish-you-are-not-here, the why-can't-she-manage-the-house, the arguments, the chores, the time spent.. there were rough patches..

but as long as they believe, tolerate and keep reminding themselves of the love they once groom and now bloom.. they will still have each other.. there maybe less vocal "I LOVE YOUs", there maybe not much dedicated songs reminding them of each other, there maybe no handmade cards, there maybe few romantic dinners, there maybe not much gifts... but they know they still each other...she can still lay on his arm, and they can still have that long everything and anything conversation they used to have...

best thing is.. they now share their lives as they were blessed with the smart brilliant kids of theirs..

with prayers, InsyaAllah, they will be fine.. the love stays there, stronger than they can imagine.