By: Srinjaya Lahiri

We met in the warm colours of spring.

In the hues of golden, blue, and pink.

Our first meeting transpired in congenial formality.

Our eyes met, but with restraint.

Then, what began with a cordial smile, slowly graduated to mutual admiration, and then love happened – the glue that sealed our hearts together.

I can’t say if it was destiny or serendipity.

But two complete strangers brought together to spend a lifetime of shared experiences.

Our relationship blossomed through the warmer months.

Ripening and maturing like the fruits of summer that cool the body and soothe the mind.

But at the same time also warms the cockles of the heart in blissful tenderness.

Then the much-awaited moment finally arrived. – one culminating in the fruition of a dream – long-cherished and solemnized through the union of two souls with blessings abundant – an everlasting bond extending much beyond the confines of time.

With hand in hand and conviction in our hearts, we embarked on this journey but also with butterflies in our stomach.

Thus began a walk together, through the highs and the lows, the ebbs and the flows.

Tested through times, gilded in fire, and crystallized in the throes of experiences, the journey continues to this day.

Through moments of calm, through moments of storm.

In sadness and happiness, in health and sickness.