Alison was still deep in her depression when she went to a friend's party one evening. She noticed Tienie, a man she had met years before through mutual friends but never got to know. She noticed him now because he seemed sad somehow. He never smiled. At some point she asked her friend what had happened to him since he had disappeared. The friend took Alison up to a window overlooking the roof. There he sat, staring into the night.
Alison climbed out and sat down next to him. They began to talk, and for once the conversation did not even touch upon her trauma. She asked him why he never smiled, and he told her about his life and how things had gone wrong in recent times. It turned out that he was in a deep depression of his own.
They talked until after the party had died below them, and then went for a walk on the beach and later some coffee. Neither of them was interested in romance at the time, being preoccupied with other emotions, but they connected and over the following weeks and months a friendship grew. Something more was growing inside the friendship, but neither realized it at first.
When Alison met Tienie's mother the first time, the older woman asked her what she had done to her son, since he was smiling again.
It wasn't long after that they realized how thoroughly they had fallen in love with each other. It was all very uncomplicated and they had been completely open with each other from the start.
In June of 1996, while they were eating in a restaurant, Tienie knelt before her and asked Alison to be his wife. She did not hesitate.
On February 15, 1997, the two were married during an intimate ceremony in the picturesque town of Knysna.
Alison looked beautiful.
email
print
default
increase
decrease
