10 Years Ago Today

We had met on an online role playing community. He was a stealthy good looking thief, I was a half-elf ranger forever roaming, perpetually lost, wandering around Realms of Despair looking for something more to my life.

As usual, I wandered into an otherwise unexplored area of the main city which turned out to be thieves alley. And what resides there, the Thief Guild of course and at it's entrance, a handsome thief talking business with another thief. I excused myself for walking in on their conversation and walked away, but not without taking a good look at the handsome thieves bio. I sent him a message saying that I liked his bio. Within seconds of the message being sent, there standing next to me is the handsome thief. Gasp!

We introduced ourselves, and started talking about anything and everything and quickly discovered that we had a lot in common. Every day we met online, and the conversation kept going, days passed, weeks passed and still we talked about everything and anything and had now moved to finishing each other's sentences and knowing what the other was thinking before a word was uttered. A month went by, a second month went by and a third. The friendship kept growing as we became closer and closer. Then horror of horror, my handsome thief was losing internet access for an indefinite period of time. What to do, what to do! We turned to letter writing, not email, but actual pen and paper and envelopes and stamps. We corresponded the old fashioned way for at least six months with letters crossing paths on their way to Belgium and Canada. We talked on the phone, and lost track of time. Whopping phone bills, but it had become love. There is no price for true love and call it what you may; soul mates or kindred spirits, we were hooked.

The good news came in the fall, my darling handsome thief wanted to meet me in person. Plans were laid out, flights reserved and the faithful day arrived, December 13th. The day I met my handsome thief for the first time at Dorval airport in Montreal. The flight landed in late afternoon. I had driven cross country from southern Ontario to be there in time. I was standing at the front of the welcoming crowd gathered at the exit for flight arrivals. Kept finding myself pushed further back by taller people until someone suggested I stand on their baggage trolley. So up I went, just to barely see over the shoulders of the people in front of me. So each time the doors opened, I would hop up to get a good view of the lines on the other side of the doors. After an hour of doing this, I was becoming worried that something had happened; that he'd missed his flight, or worse yet, that he'd gotten cold feet and cancelled at the last minute. I kept pushing back those awful thoughts because I knew he was near, I could feel it in my heart. So each time the doors opened, there I was doing the kangaroo hop to see my beloved thief. And finally! there he was at the back of a long line, he smiled when I waved at him when I'd hop up to see him better before the doors closed. And each time the doors opened, he was a little closer and finally, he was coming through the doors! My heart was beating so fast with anticipation, I jumped off the trolley, slipped under the cable keeping the crowd back and fell into his arms for the first of many many hugs. It felt like he was coming home after being away for a few months. Everything about him felt familiar. It felt so right, the way his arms went around me, feeling his breath against my forehead, the beating of his heart under my cheek. My darling thief was finally home.

We stayed in Montreal for a couple of days. It wasn't planned that way, but the airplane ride had jostled a kidney stone free and it was having a party of it's own coming down. So what is the first thing that any good canadian does to a newcomer to the country? Treat him to Timmy's of course LOL followed by pizza from Little Caesar. We also went to a grocery store and my darling's eyes just about popped out of his head, he'd never seen a huge grocery store like that before. Mind you, he'd never experienced snow either so to land in Montreal in December was quite the treat for him. He loved it and still does.

The drive back to southern Ontario was long and tiring. We stopped halfway just before Toronto for something to eat and I showed him on a map of Ontario how far we'd travelled. The distance was mind-boggling for him considering that Belgium fits in the Niagara Peninsula. He couldn't get over how much empty space there is and anyone who has driven the 401 length between Toronto and Kingston can vouch just how mind numbing that drive is. We finally got home late that night, and he got to meet my teenage son who instantly took a liking to my darling.

Happy anniversary my darling thief. 

Forever your Angel I'll be.

I love you forever and a day my beautiful green eyed man