And Then She Came…Back

The man saw the woman had come wandering through the door and debated whether to acknowledge her presence or just let her wonder if he noticed.

He played around with remaining silent because she had been silent and it irked him. Irked him because she had direction and more than just ideas about what he was thinking and it wasn’t reciprocated.

If you asked him for his opinion her interest level was there but she was afraid to voice it and to see where it might go.

There were potential complications but there was also a huge upside potentially too.

He figured she would explore that upside sooner or later. They weren’t done, not yet.

Neither would know for certain without taking time to explore it and he was certain she was considering it.

Is It a Second or Third Chance?

The man and the woman had a brief conversation about a potential future. She said she wasn’t in a position to discuss things and didn’t want to hurt him.

He didn’t press her on things even though she barely engaged on the topic. Didn’t tell her that she would be furious if she was as tightlipped about his thoughts as she was.

It was definitely a double standard and under certain circumstances, she would agree and likely apologize, but he didn’t push it because the time hadn’t come to do so.

Had things not gone as they had he wouldn’t have pressed her to speak when he did, but he felt like he had no choice and that no sharing his thoughts would be worse.

So now he sat back and waited for her to go through her process. If he was correct in his beliefs there would be an opportunity and they could discuss whether it was a second or a third chance because it was definitely something.

The Future

The man sent the lady a message that said he wanted to discuss the future but she didn’t respond. He wasn’t certain if it was because she was distracted with other stuff or if she preferred not to discuss.

Nor did he know if she was waiting for him to spell out time and place.

He had a basic idea and plan and determined he would follow it because it was time to get answers and direction.

Once More Into The Breach

The time is coming for the conversation in which we finally explore and determine the future.

Sooner Or Later

The man felt like he had been walking through forests and deserts for decades. Given the choice he would have gladly ridden a horse with no name or even one with something silly.

It would have been easier on his feet, but given there was no horse, car, magic carpet or bicycle he simply walked,

He figured sooner or later he would find the woman and they would have a long overdue conversation about the future and possibilities.

Dreams & Reality

The man woke up and thought about the dream he had just had, or at least the one he remembered.

She had been there again, not the first time by a long shot but the first one in a long while where he wondered if the universe had just provided a clip of a future they would share.

It was hard to believe it was anything but a glimpse of a time they had discussed as a possible option but had set aside because it seemed unlikely.

And yet just when he had thought there was no reason to believe circumstances had changed and opportunity had begun to knock. It made him wonder about many things.

It was impossible not to gather little drops of hope like dew from leaves because something felt different this time. Some of that was because it was different. They were both in places that provided a different perspective than they once had.

So maybe it was ok to begin to let a little of that hope in because sometimes dreams intersected with reality.

Dreams & Ideas

Time passed and things happened leading the man to wonder if there was perhaps reason to wonder if maybe wishes and dreams long forgotten were worth remembering.

And if they were worth remembering maybe that meant there was reason to explore taking action on them.

It was worth mulling over.

She Promised An Update

The lady promised to update the man and so he waited and waited. After a time he wondered if he needed to reach out again or if it was better to give her space because he was certain she would find him again, she always did.

But he wondered and worried a bit and so he made a decision.

Looking For The Lady

The man noticed the few times her majesty had spoken with him she had shared quite a bit of her life and her feelings.

He thought it noteworthy and suspected she was surprised by how much she had said. He suspected she was torn because of the particular moment.

He suspected she didn’t want to lean on him at all but wanted to run into his arms and tell him everything. She trusted him so deeply it frightened her or so he suspected.

Her majesty had given him everything in the past and circumstances had gotten in the way so they had split mostly…but not entirely.

So he felt pretty good about his assessment but understood he might be wrong too. Both could be possible and even if he was correct she wasn’t ready to admit any of it.

But he had a feeling one day she would reach out and they would have one of those naked conversations they used to have.

The kind that were as intimate as lovemaking even if they were completely dressed and sitting 10 feet apart.

The Lady In The Castle

The man took stock of the past chunk of time and marveled at all that had happened.

He had set his intention on taking a particular path into a new future because he didn’t see a reason to continue upon the old.

Time and time again he had tried to make some things happen and had repeatedly failed. Even someone as determined and strong-willed as him had limits which is why he made the decision to turn away.

And then the unexpected had happened and that changed his position. He had experienced something you could call a teaching moment and had received an education.

That influenced him because he had to reevaluate the situation and he determined his analysis had been wrong. It was the equivalent of using the wrong formula to solve for X.

The numbers might look correct but in reality they were not so you had to start fresh because the prior conclusion was flawed.

And so he rode back the other direction and came to a place called the lady in the castle. He set up camp there and began a long meditation with the idea that it would render more clarity than he had started out with.