Silence
Copyright 1997-2002 by OldTom, all rights reserved.

So many of his stories had become prophetic. Perhaps he knew the silence was coming, as he put together the collection.

When he first put the stories together as a collection, he had noted the time span from start to finish had been 9-1/2 weeks... but the silence was not yet come. He spoke of memories, and wrote Choices with an air of finality, to portray the emotion that existed at the time.

And then, exactly 9-1/2 weeks after writing Choices, came the real-life completion of the relationship. The retrospective became the reality. He placed the explanation in a story, as had become his way.

The stories are fiction, yet our Playground of the Mind is real. Reunion never happened - yet the story is an accurate portrayal, and remains among my most cherished memories.

Choices never happened. The choice was made and accepted, to be sure. But we were never allowed to meet in person, and thus the story Choices played itself out in our playground of the mind.

She called today, to say her computer was taken away, and that she was allowed to call me one last time. The call was interrupted, and she hopes to gain permission to call back and explain why this call must be the last.

She has a good Master, and I accept his decision. She knows she is not alone; other women have made this same choice. I am writing this story while waiting for her to call back, so that we can at least say Goodbye. Perhaps forever; perhaps only for a time. Who can look ahead at a time like this?

With her computer gone, she will never see this story, will never know her friendship will be remembered with such honor. Unless... perhaps she will be allowed to call back, and complete the conversation. And I will read her this story, and she will know.

I accept our friendship must become silent, but she knows it will remain forever. She has my promise, and I have her promise to always remember.

Goodbye, my friend. Thank you for becoming a permanent part of my life.

I will remember.

She called; he read her his story. She remained in such a state of shock that he does not know if she liked it or not. She showed little emotion - not that she was suppressing; she was truly in shock.

The story is ironic, speaking of remembering their friendship with such honor. For her Master believes he is not an honorable man. Nothing except time can prove otherwise. Perhaps six months, perhaps six years; perhaps never.

Until then, she will not know how it is with him, and he will not know how it is with her.

Today the silence begins.

Table of Contents

On to Connection