A Love Story from Long Ago.

This is a story from the past, told by an old woman—a story that might have happened, or perhaps it didn't, the kind that could happen anywhere. If you are interested, please stay with me.

What are you suddenly saying? That's what you seem to want to ask, isn't it? You can laugh if you want. Wondering what an old lady like me is starting to sing about. To be fair, I wasn't even born when this song first became popular. But popular songs were often played on the radio. Back when I was a girl, when I was at that age, listening to them made my heart flutter. I had a time like that, too, you know.

There was someone I admired when I was twenty. I was at the age where I was starting to think about marriage. He was handsome, stylish, and the man everyone admired. I was one of them. Did I confess? What are you talking about? Forget confessing, in my youth, it was considered shameless for a man and a woman to even walk side by side.

And so, time flowed on. I had an arranged marriage, and now I am a respectable old woman with great-grandchildren. The man I admired was meant to stay only in my heart. That should have been it. But, by some trick of fate, or perhaps just a coincidence, I met him half a year ago.

They say you can't beat the passing years, and I am someone who cannot do without hospital visits. High blood pressure, heart medication. I have to drink more water to take my pills than I do for my meals, it's exhausting... Oh, I'm sorry. Complaining is no good, let's stop.

That day was very hot. After getting my prescription, I thought I'd have some water before heading home, so I headed to where the water dispenser was located. As I walked down the hospital corridor, I heard a voice I recognized.

“Oh. Excuse me... are you A-san?”
“Yes, I am. Um...”
“Pardon me. My maiden name is T.”
“Ah, are you that T-san? I remember you, it is so nostalgic.”

We exchanged a brief conversation in the hallway and then parted ways. The man I admired was hospitalized in the same hospital I visit. He was there for treatment, not in a critical condition, and he was laughing about how he could walk and eat normally and would be discharged in a week. Hearing that, I felt a sense of relief, but...

I can't say much about others. There is no trace of the girl I once was left in me now. I am a wrinkled old woman. And the man I admired had also become thin, an old man with skin like the branches of a roadside tree. It has been over half a century since then, so that is only natural.

“You haven't changed. Your smile is just like it was back then, like a flower blooming.”
“Oh, you are so charming. You are quite dandy yourself.”

Was it flattery or was it sincere? Probably both.

You can fall in love at any time. Me? I love my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren now. I have graduated from romance. I wonder about you. I hope you have a good love and nurture it.

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