A Love Story Lost: How Unearthing A Past Can Mend Our Present
A couple accidentally started unearthing the history that mirrored their conflicts and compelled them to confront their problems and seek a resolution
It was almost 15 years since Jane and Harry got married in a dream-like wedding function which friends and families attended wholeheartedly wishing that any future weddings happening in their family would have inspiring elements from this wedding.💒
But from that day till the present, things had already started going downhill on the personal relation front for both.
Small debates on bigger things like which car to buy next slowly got converted into larger fights over smaller routine stuff like where to go for tonight’s dinner.🥊
Things culminated in layered anguish and an initial pinch of hatred started spreading its stink even when the other one did the right thing and spoke the words both used to be happy upon hearing not so long ago.😡
One day on weekends Jane was clearing the storage to make space for the new Vacuum cleaner she had bought even after resistance from Harry.
She asked for help and called Harry who turned up before her uninterestingly and in a fierce tone told Jane that he told her not to buy this, but she still bought it and now they are finding a challenge to make space for it.🥡
Jane seemed least bothered about what Harry said shouting mildly and told back that it was just a matter of removing that old trunk which is lying unused and rusting for so many years.
This sparked anger in Harry and he shouted back “I have told you several times that this trunk belonged to my grandmother, and I want to keep it”.
Jane threw the mopper on the floor and shouted back “This is rusted, and the base is already broken. No point in keeping it occupying this large space which serves no purpose”.🌳
Harry shut the door of the storage room violently and almost ran away from the room and sat failingly on the Sofa in front of the TV.
Later in the day when the setting Sun calmed the minds of both, Jane sensed that she had hit the wrong cord unknowingly as Harry had an emotional connection with that trunk.
She went to Harry and sat beside him though at a distance which could’ve shortened easily then but didn’t apologize and said that she thinks both are stressed due to year-end work pressure and that maybe they should go out for a weekend trip in some isolated place to spend time just with each other.✈️
Harry like always wanted to resist and say something opposite to what Jane wanted but somehow he agreed with a condition that he would choose the place and they will spend most of the time indoors.🆗
The crisp autumn wind rattled the swinging windows of the front entrance of their three-day temporary home on this vacation. It was a Victorian house far away from the city in the nestle of a lush green forest which Harry found on a homestay website.🛖
As Jane and Harry explored the dusty grand entry Cobwebs, like ghostly streamers, draped across forgotten furniture, and the musty air held a faint scent of lavender and instantly sparked a sense of regret.
They wanted an old-looking place to stay for this awaited vacation but not this old and radiating a vibe of mystical calmness rather than a refreshing breath of air.
Still, they wanted to make it work and enjoy the time and not let the place affect their mood negatively.
They started settling down and after relaxing a bit with a welcome drink of a refreshing mocktail, they were soon on the exploration spree of the house.
Going through the corner of the main bedroom Harry bumped into a trunk shrouded in a white sheet, a chain of dust danced in the weak sunlight.💼
“Not again, one more old trunk to deal with! What do you think it is?” Jane asked curiosity flickered and a sprinkle of suspicion raised her eyes.
Harry uttered in a low voice while shrugging. “Probably old clothes or furniture.”
Although they knew that it was not right to open or unlock anything lying inside the property but somehow they felt a strong urge to know what’s there inside.
Together they pulled the sheet away, revealing a too-old oak trunk displaying the sides with intricate carvings. A single, iron-rusted but artistically designed lock secured it shut.
“There’s no key,” Jane said, trying to unlock the lock in vain.
That night, as they lay in bed, after the delicious dinner provided by the house staff, the silence of the old house felt heavy. The trunk, positioned in the corner of their bedroom, seemed to whispering an unspoken story.🛌
Jane couldn’t shake off a sense of unnecessary overthinking, a feeling that mirrored the growing tension in their own relationship.
The night passed with all the suppressed emotional or physical “expressions to be exchanged” in disinterest as expected.
No one was anticipating that the discovery of the trunk would become a catalyst, an unwelcome reminder of something waiting to be unrevealed.📂
Around the afternoon, Jane found Harry bringing over a dusty box cutter from somewhere, which he said he got from the security guard upon insisting a bit.
Soon the lock on the trunk lay in pieces on the floor. Inside there, within the layers of yellowed silk, was a collection of letters tied with a faded ribbon and a stack of yellowish-toned photographs.🔓
They started going through the photos and the letters, which were penned in an elegant script, unfolded a tragic love story.
Soon they found that the trunk belonged to a young woman named Evelyn and a dashing gentleman named Arthur, connected to this house in the late 19th century, approximately Fifty years from now.
After going through a few letters, they soon found that it was a timeless sign of their love, withheld against the pressure of family and society, blossomed in secret letters exchanged under the cloak of night. 💦
But their happiness lived only a short life. Arthur, destined for an arranged marriage, as his parents strongly wished for, left for a distant land, leaving Evelyn heartbroken.
The photographs depicted a beautiful woman with haunted eyes and a man with a silent smile. Jane felt an inexplicable connection, a reflection of their struggles in this long-lost love.
The tension between her and Harry mirrored Evelyn and Arthur’s incomplete desires.⛈️
As they sank into their thoughts deeper, they discovered a hidden diary tucked away in a corner.
Evelyn’s final entry, written on the day of Arthur’s departure, was showing a desperate wish to follow him, to hold his hand and to live a future beyond the confines of world boundaries.
But when Arthur left in haste without meeting Evelyn she became angry and decided not to talk to him ever again and not to wait for any of his messages or communication. A misunderstanding which she could’ve avoided.⚡
The diary ended abruptly, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.
This touching story sparked a newfound curiosity, and Jane and Harry started researching the house’s history. Local archives revealed that Evelyn had disappeared shortly after Arthur’s departure.🕵️
The official story was about a tragic fall from a cliff overlooking the sea, declared an accident by the administration.
But a strong suspicion gnawed at Jane. Were there secrets more to it?
They explored the house very carefully, their eyes scanning every corner with a purpose. 👥
Behind a loose floorboard, they discovered a small, leather-bound journal. It belonged to Arthur, filled with paragraphs documenting his guilt after leaving Evelyn behind.
The final pages dated a few months after he arrives in the new land, talked about his desperate attempt to return to Evelyn, only to find the house abandoned and rumors of her tragic demise.🧿
The discovery of Arthur’s journal shattered the popularly heard story of an accident. It pointed towards a more sinister possibility; a hidden secret buried within the walls of the house.👀
They consulted a local historian, known for her knowledge of the several neighboring states’ historic folktales.
The historian’s eyes twinkled and confirmed their suspicions. Now they know that Evelyn, unable to bear the pain of separation, had taken her own life.😎
The whole tragic story raised unease which soon turned into a sense of responsibility.
Jane and Harry understood now that Evelyn’s story appeared before them with a purpose; it reflected somehow as to think and revive their own relationship.💪
They needed to address their relationship struggles to find peace within themselves and perhaps even for Evelyn’s restless soul.
With the newfound goal and empathy, Jane and Harry sat down, but this time their voices were soft and politely firm.
They acknowledged their emotional gaps, the unspoken resentments that had rusted their relationship.✨
As they talked, a sense of responsible understanding bloomed. They vowed to prioritize their love and to face routine differences creating issues together, just like Evelyn and Arthur yearned to do.💖
They returned with the story as they had lived it and over the next few weeks, their own house felt new, lighter, and the air less heavy.
Jane told Harry that she was keeping his grandmother’s old trunk but with the condition that Harry would paint it with a shining white color and repair the base to make it solid. ✨
Also, she kept that in their bedroom and made it a ritual to put a white rose on it on family occasions.
On their next vacation, they called their friends and held a small ceremony in that Old House, where they had learned the lesson of treasuring their relationship, reading passages from Evelyn and Arthur’s letters.🎉
Acknowledging their love story and the pain it went through, everyone promised their partners to keep their relationships happy, work on the differences, and avoid all the self-created distances.💃
As they cleaned the trunk of the old house washed away the pain it held and placed a single white rose on the trunk, a sense of closure showered over them.
Theirs was a love story rewritten, a bond strengthened by the story of the past.💑
I hope you liked the story, and it gave you something to think about.
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