Not all of us know to be a "Marco Polo".

Some time back, i came a cross a young lady who, unknowingly shared a part of her life, that touched me to the core of mine. She made me part of her journey simply, through my observing and listening to her expressions on that which touched her life. And the part that fascinated me most, was her total belief in, and surrender to, the love for another.
A path she had embarked on, not having looked for it but, stumbled upon as their relationship grew.
The months tumbled by and i began to have hope that all the obstacles i was aware of, why such a union could not be possible, she seemed to take in her stride and make the most of. Her ability, not to over-analyse or over think a moment. Her ability to live in the instant and make the most of it , was rubbing off on her partner. And it looked like he began to see the world through her eyes.
This young lady, a spirit that refused to allow the negativity of a cynical world to influence her decisions began to make his world colourful and hopeful and vivacious and ALIVE. She watched his change and through her narrations i found joy in them too.
She described him as a plodding grey little man, yet so beautiful in spirit, sadly caught in a world of non-existence...unseen, unheard yet, breathing.
But, he had managed to touch her, or rather, i would say...unknowing in his case...he had began to surrender of himself the part that was numbed. Numbed, for the stimulation that may have been around him, did not make him joyous nor recognise what lay deep within him. He had not known better.
And that was all made possible by her walking into his life.
And there it was, an embarking of a discovery where she received affirmation that her outlook on life was appropriate and acceptably rewarding, all the while knowing to share and make him see what was possible. It wasn't a matter of wanting to change him. More a matter of showing him how to let go and be the person he really was.
Whenever she spoke of them, she spoke mainly about him...his interests , the little idiosyncrasies that defined his happiness, sadly suppressed, his acceptance of a life lived singular in trying to find a serenity of spirit and thought. She believed his happiness could be attained and that she could make it happen for it ran parallel to her outlook on life.
But, as i listened and heard, a sadness crept within me. How romantic and idealistic this young lady was. He, so set and accepting in his ways of what fate had dealt him. A loyalty sternly adhered to and furiously held on to, relating to all his experiences to date. A value attached to those experiences that he would find deeper meaning in than the life she was unfolding before him.
it was obvious that her faith, at times, was tested...especially when she would sit across from me, a face forlorn and deep in thought...and when questioned if all was OK...her sad, far away eyes said it all...then bravely, she would smile and refuse to remain in a morbid state of mind and begin a narration of something trivial and so random that many a time, i would find difficult to follow her train of thought.
I began to recognise that trait as one of self- preservation...her way of dealing with a truth painful. At no point in time did she veer off her path of 'him and her'.
She allowed time to do its thing. Only time could show him who she was and what life meant to her.
I wondered if he understood the depth of what defined this young lady..that there was no pretence in what she revealed to him. That her loyalty to life and what it actually offered, was real and deep and sensual and passionate and extremely...extremely unique.
Her strength lay in her compassion and humbleness and love toward herself. She knew she was nothing more special than a creation of  thoughts and dreams and hopes and faith and experiences....good, bad, sad, tragic, rewarding, appeasing, fulfilling, giving, taking, accepting....always gracious in her acknowledgement of her birth....she was merely a mortal, a human being, like all others, who had the right to make choices in the hope they be the right ones.
And should they be such to challenge her progress and success, she took it in her stride and made a mental note to try not repeat them again.
Her candid honesty, saying things the way she saw them, made many uncomfortable. It wasn't that she knew not to be diplomatic, it was more a case of holding up a mirror to the lies and deceit most chose to abide to. At times she even challenged me. There was no judgement in her doing so but, quite the opposite...the hope of revealing that no matter the mistake, there is always hope. In her mind nothing was impossible. The world was big enough, populated with many a wise thought.
Then that morning dawned and the evening sent out its tentacles of darkness and her heart was gripped in a painful sorrow. A sadness deep...for no matter how beautiful that rainbow she had made him visualise, he didn't know to search for that pot of gold at the end of it.
He told her his truth.
He was scared of the unknown. He was uncertain of the road that lay ahead, his comfort lay in what he knew....much easier to settle for that comfortable singularity than an adventure that still had to unfold. He thanked her for showing him what could be. He thanked her for opening a space in him that knew to, once again, smell and see and touch and hear and absorb the beauty of what life offered.
But.
He needed to continue in a way that was familiar to him.
Well.
That is the way she put it to me...all i could think was...thank goodness she was that kind of spirit that would again rise and find another to build that rainbow for....my heart broke for her. My eyes were full of tears but, i didn't let her see.

What is it they say....better the devil you know than the devil you don't know....or is it...the grass is not greener on the other side...?

How would one know, if one didn't try...especially in a situation like the young lady's one....where two souls had found a commonality and familiarity that must have been in existence before they were even born, perfectly in unison....what is it that humans chase....i wonder.

But then again....not all of us are born to be Marco Polo....discoverers of fantastical continents.....the courage and bravery to believe that the earth is not flat and that one won't fall over the edge.

RB.