My scream echoed through the empty hospital corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper slipped from my hands and fluttered onto the polished floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben caught it before it landed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I knew you’d misunderstand,” he whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
“The first line says…” My voice cracked. “‘I married Rosie because I made a promise that changed my entire life.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at him in disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What promise?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He closed his eyes for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It started when we were nine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sounds of hospital monitors drifted through the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’ve never told anyone this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I folded my arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m listening.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You remember the day Rosie disappeared at the county fair?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course I remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our parents had searched frantically for nearly an hour before a security guard found her sitting beside a fountain, calmly feeding birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I was the one who found her first,” Ben said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She wasn’t scared.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She thought everyone else was lost.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite everything, I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That sounds like Rosie.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben smiled too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I told her your parents were looking everywhere, she grabbed my hand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His voice softened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She asked me something I’ll never forget.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“‘Will people always think I’m broken?'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I told her no.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He swallowed hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then she asked another question.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“‘Will somebody ever love me enough to marry me?'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tears welled in my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I was nine years old.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I didn’t know what marriage really meant.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“So I said…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“‘If nobody else does… I will.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Silence settled between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You married her because of something you promised as a child?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I married her because twenty years later…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“…I realized it wasn’t just a promise anymore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What do you mean?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He laughed softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I spent most of high school trying to convince myself I was in love with you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words stung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But every important memory I had…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“…Rosie was somehow part of it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I got accepted into college…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She baked me cookies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I lost my grandfather…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She sat beside me for three hours without saying a word because she knew I didn’t want to talk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When I lost my job…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She left encouraging notes inside my lunchbox every morning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked toward the operating room doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She never tried to impress people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“She just loved them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I felt tears rolling down my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But people judged you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They judged us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They said I must have some hidden reason.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They assumed she couldn’t understand love.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They assumed I couldn’t possibly choose this life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He smiled sadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They never understood that Rosie saw people more clearly than anyone I’ve ever met.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at the paper again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then why write it like this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He unfolded the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Keep reading.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hands shook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below the first sentence was another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIf you’re reading this, please don’t let my first sentence fool you. I didn’t marry Rosie out of pity. I married her because she taught me what love actually looks like.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There are more pages.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He handed me the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of them weren’t written by Ben.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Rosie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earliest one was dated five years before their wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I asked Ben not to propose to me until he could answer one question honestly.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If one<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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