Such A Place

They both walked along different roads of life. 

One day, fate brought their paths closer together.

At first they were unaware of one another. 
But soon they were walking side by side. 

Before long they strolled along hand in hand, joyful for the discovered company. 
Along the way they hit a few obstacles. 

And they navigated several obscured bends. 

Sometimes their courses took different directions. 
Somehow they were able to occasionally make their paths cross so they
could take a few more steps hand in hand. 
Along the journey, a phantom edifice arose upon the horizon. 
Through the mist they could see the outline of a great fortress. 
It appeared to be the destination they both sought, a sanctuary where they
could love without fear or hesitation. 

They imagined it as a bright and warm place that would harbor them from the rest of the world. 
It looked like a strong and solid structure that, despite its colossal size, might have difficulty holding all the love they longed to place within it.
It would be the perfect place to house their perfect love.
So then they continued their journey, making their way toward that castle.
Often it seemed to get closer; at other times it appeared as if it were further away. 
They endured more obstacles and more turns. 

They enjoyed some pleasurable side trips and tarried in meadows along the way. 
As the miles and the years rolled by, they progressed onward, never losing sight of the castle and the promises it possessed. 

One day, during a moment of reflection, he wondered if they would ever reach the castle to live happily ever after. 

Bending down to tighten the laces of his boot, he was visited by a quandary:  was there such a place where love would serve exclusive? 

Where change would be shackled? 

Perhaps living in such a place was more about fear and need for protection? While he entertained such ponderings she had quickened her gait; provoked by her desperate need to arrive. 

To him, it didn't matter if they ever reached the mystic castle on the horizon.  The true magic of their companionship sprang from the journey, not the destination. 

By then her hast had prodded her beyond his welcoming hand as the distance between them began to increase. 

She no longer took notice of his voice calling to her, as his song blended into the background noise, where her attention no longer found promise.