She was waiting at the train station with an umbrella in her hand. This umbrella made no sense to anyone who passed her by. The sky was clear; there was no chance of rain. But what the surrounding people failed to understand was that the umbrella was symbolic. It meant everything to her-- and her partner.
They had met several months ago at a video game store. They were individuals back then. Customers. Strangers. But very quickly their small talk about zombies and magic become elongated conversations about life and death and everything in between.
They fell in love.
For one girl, she had felt an immediate presence in the store the moment the other woman entered. She felt like she was in the presence of a goddess, and she was breathless when their eyes met for the first time.
For the other girl, she had felt like she was lost. Looking for something. Looking in all the wrong places. Until she met her. Suddenly, she knew what she was looking for. Her soulmate. She also knew what she needed. She needed to put a ring on the other woman's finger, and to never let her go.
However. The first girl could not leave her household. She was married to a man who did not love her anymore. She longed to break free and to fly away like a bird; to sing songs of love and romance and rebirth. But he held her back from doing the things she wanted to do. Even get a job for herself. Until one day... she received a letter.
"Dearest friend, I had a terrific time talking to you in the store all those days ago. I am sorry I didn't write to you sooner. I had written your address on a napkin and accidentally threw it away. This is my fifth letter I'm sending-- each to a slightly different address-- as I'm going from memory. I have never stopped thinking about you. I would like to meet for coffee one day. Please respond soon, because I miss you."
The first girl was over joyed. She immediately sat down and wrote the other woman a letter. And as she wrote, her heart beat a little harder, a little faster. She realized that meeting this woman was very important to her. This goddess... this beautiful soul. She wanted to make contact with her again.
Meanwhile, the second girl was making lunch for her twin girls. They were age 5. The father had long left the picture. In truth, even the girls' mother was out of the picture. She was so busy with work, having two jobs in order to support the children. It broke her heart one day when the babysitter left for the day, and one of her girls turned to her and said, "When is mommy coming back?"
She loved her children dearly. She hated that she wasn't around enough to make them happy. She thought of the letter that she wrote to the woman she met in the video game store. This thought made her smile. She hated coffee. She wondered if the other person would send her a letter back.
Letters were written and exchanged throughout the months. Yet they always found a reason to say "no" to friendly invitations. They were always too busy: The girls had to go to piano class, the husband wanted her to stay home, the babysitter was sick, the neighbor's dog bit her and she had to go to the hospital...
But then one day, the first woman admitted that she and her husband were moving away. Suddenly, the chances of them ever meeting seemed next to impossible. Life seemed to be working against them.
Even though it had been months since their first meeting, when they exchanged information, neither woman could get the other out of their head. They were linked. In sync. Swimming peacefully in each other's thoughts. And they missed each other greatly. So they continued to write letters faithfully, letters filled with love, secrets, and dreams.
Over one letter, the subject of the umbrella was brought to their attention. What was the use of umbrellas? To stop from getting wet? Wasn't rain a natural and beautiful thing? Well. Some people can't stand getting wet. Some people are opposites. The umbrella could be a joke to one person, and mean everything to another.
"Don't worry," one of the women wrote in her letter. "I understand. I'll buy the biggest umbrella there is and hold it over you even when the skies are clear, because I want you to feel safe and protected."
It wasn't long after this that they finally decided to do what their hearts were begging them to do.