A WHITE ROSE FOR MY CHRISTINE

By Tranquilpen

4 months ago tranquilpen 48 in photography He relates, that about 40 years ago, he was madly in love with a beautiful young girl while they were still at school. She was wealthy but he came from the wrong side of town, which had no effect on her love for him. His mom had a thriving rose garden with beautiful and fragrant white blooms. Every day, on his way to school, he would choose the best bud in the garden for his Christine. They had sworn an oath, that no matter what, if one of them should ever die, the other one should be there with a single white rose for the one who was dying.After graduation, she wanted to study for a degree and so did he, unfortunately, in spite of several distinctions, his parents could not afford to send him off to University, so, he got a job to help support his family in raising his younger siblings. Soon after graduating, David was drafted into the army and was sent off to the South African/Namibian border battlefield against the Swapo guerilla forces when they corresponded regularly by snail mail. Suddenly, the letters were fewer until they stopped altogether. He kept writing but never got a reply again. After completing his tour of duty, he returned home and called her at her parents home, her father answered the door and was clearly annoyed when he spoke, saying:After completing his tour of duty, he returned home and called her at her parents home, her father answered the door and was clearly annoyed when he spoke, saying:"David (not his real name) you have to forget about Christine, we have sent her to America to study. You must forget about Christine because she has also met someone who she is going to marry. Find someone from your own neighborhood." 

He asked her father if she had left a message for him and he said no, only to tell David that he should move on with his life and forget about her. Reluctantly, he left thinking that her parents who had never really liked him much, had sent her away on purpose. Regardless of what the reason was, he never heard from her again.Reluctantly, he left thinking that her parents who had never really liked him, had sent her away on purpose. Regardless of what the reason was, he never heard from her again.David eventually met a woman who was loving and kind and good for him. 

They got married and tried to have children but after a series of miss carriages, they simply gave up. They had a good life in spite of the sadness. He had told Martha, from the onset, about Christine and that he would never be able to forget her. She loved him anyhow. Eight years ago, Martha complained about a pain in her chest one morning at the breakfast table. He got up to fetch her a glass of water, but as he got back to her, she had quietly passed away.

After Martha's funeral, David never married again, mourning, both her passing and the void left in his heart, by Christine's sudden leaving.five months ago, in November 2016, a dull pain in his groin which had initially come and gone, had returned and grew steadily worse and he had difficulty passing water. A dozen biopsies and several tests later, the specialist told him that his prostate cancer was in inoperable and at an advanced stage and that he had at most 6 months to live. In the process, he had been hospitalized for a few days. 

The day he was discharged, as he left the hospital, he noticed a woman's handbag lying on the ground in front of the car parked next to his.He picked it up and waited a few minutes to see if anyone would come and claim it. Eventually, seeing no one looking for it, he unzipped it and found a wallet with cash, some credit cards and an Identity document with a woman's personal information. He had his cellphone handy and dialed a number at the bottom of the page.A woman answered and said that she was frantically trying to find her handbag. He arranged to hand her the bag at the hospital restaurant.

He sat down at a table and waited a few minutes for the woman to turn up. The next moment he almost blacked out from shock, because, standing in front of him was his long lost love, Christine!Eyes wide and staring in disbelief, he simply sat motionlessly. "Hello, are you David?" the woman asked."Yes, but how on earth is this possible?" he asked. This woman could not have been a day over 40. Next to her were two young girls of around 8 and 10 years of age. "Sorry," she said:"I don't understand what you mean." There it was again, he thought, even this woman's voice was identical to Christine's.He invited them to sit, handed her the bag and ordered coffee. 

As they sat there Cecily asked him why he was shocked at seeing her, as she was quite sure they had never met before, so he explained briefly about the love of his life, Christine and their star-crossed love of 40 years ago, and how she had left without saying goodbye.Then it was Cecily's turn to be shocked! She told him that her mother's name was also Christine and that she, Cecily, was born in America and had a wonderful stepdad who had died, and an amazing husband, Mark Rogers, an American Airlines pilot.

 He asked whether she had her mother's address or perhaps a phone number, as he just had to know if she could be his childhood sweetheart from long ago. Suddenly, Cecily started crying and David asked what the problem was.She told him they had just moved back to South Africa after her mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and Cecily and her children were actually here to visit her mom, at the very same hospital he had been in for almost a week. They were there because her mom's doctor had called to say that her mom was fading fast and that if they wanted to say goodbye, they should come today.

David managed to find a single white rose at the nearby flower seller's stall before accompanying Cecily and the kids to see her mom.As they walked into the ward. he held up the rose for her to see. "David!", she said excitedly:"You kept the promise we made to each other my dearest friend." There was no mistake at all, this was his only love, his "Chrissy". He placed the rose in her hand and gently lifted it up for her to smell its scent.A white rose was her special flower in the whole world.

 As she smelled the fragrance, her pain-filled eyes slowly lit up, and her face broke into a wonderful smile. Just then, David said, he felt as though all the lost years had suddenly melted away and he was looking at his young "Chrissy" again. For a short while, they just savored this tender moment in silence.Cecily and the girls briefly left the room to allow David and Christine a few precious minutes alone. It was then, that Christine gently drew him closer and whispered in his ear, that Cecily, is David's daughter and that Cecily is happily married to Mark, an airline pilot. 

She was married to a great man, an American named Bob Grant, who married her in spite of knowing, that her heart belonged to another man in far away, South Africa.When he asked Christine why she left so suddenly, she explained that her parents had found out about her so-called "shameful pregnancy" and instantly forbade any contact with David and informing him about his baby, her father rushed her and her mother off to America to have the baby. Her mother stayed with her in Queens for a while until she could manage on her own. "So." I'm a dad after all, of a beautiful daughter and I am also a grandpa of two pretty granddaughters, David thought.He decided not say anything to Cecily and therefore, not exacerbate their impending grief. 

He told Christine briefly about his life and about his marriage to Martha and that he too had a very short time to live.He asked her if she remembered their sworn oath, that no matter what, if one of them should ever die, the other one was to bring the dying one a white rose. "Of course," she said. "Those words have stayed with me throughout the past 40 years and I just knew that we would somehow be given that one chance to keep that promise." Suddenly her face paled as she whispered: "My dearest love, please hold me closer and call our daughter, it's time."

David beckoned to Cecily and the children to come in. they all stood around her bed, gently caressing her frail arms and legs, David and Cecily at opposite sides and the girls sitting on both sides of her bed. a few moments later Christine gave David a tender hug then turned her face towards Cecily, hugged her and finally, she kissed the girls, sank back onto her pillow, sighed gently as her spirit left.David attended her funeral as a dear and close friend of Christine's from the past.

When David phoned in this story, he said that he is also, is now at the final stages of his cancer and dying, he just felt like quickly sharing his story of "Coincidence" with the listeners of RSG before dying.P.S. Listeners were so moved and inspired by him that they sent in dozens of text messages and emails. Some who were traveling home on the roads had pulled over to cry or hug one another. RSG has a listener-ship of 1.2 million and I can tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the entire listener-ship.I am honored to have been able to share his remarkable story, with anyone who cares to read it. 

God bless all of you,

Andre' Hartslief