Jacob moved slowly along the fence line. His 90-year-old legs had seen their better days. Every few steps he would stop and grasp a fence post and rest a bit. It had been ages since he had come back here. He didn’t remember the gate being so far from his childhood home. Although his eyesight had faded he could still smell the honeysuckle. It reminded him of her. Her golden hair was flying in the wind as she rode her black stallion in the meadow. The sunlight shone so brightly off her hair that it melted his heart. As her name, Jessica, formed in his mind, warmth spread through his body. He felt younger and stronger. His legs gave him a little more kick and he found himself running along the fence line like a kid. Like he had done every day for three years as he blossomed into a man.
Jacob’s heart was pounding. It was racing not because of the exertion of his body, it was in anticipation. The gate was just a few more steps. Life gives us funny twists and turns. Knowing how we got to where we are going is difficult to see even after we have lived through those moments. Recognizing gates into possible futures is all but impossible to see as we pass them.
There it was. It had weathered with age as much as he had. The hinges struggled to keep the gate's purchase to the aged post that served as its guide. Jacob ran his hand over the gray and weathered wood. His fingers traced the lines of rust that trailed from the nails that struggled to hold the gate’s form. Even in their age he could feel the magic of the gate. The wire tie had long since broken. It would be so easy to swing the gate open and step into another world.
From down the meadow Jacob heard the snort of a horse and the thunder of a gallop. Did he dare look up? He knew that he would see her. He would feel her smile, as she looked his way. It would slice right through him and he would be helpless to its power. It would paralyze him as it had done all those other days as he stood at this gate looking longingly into her world. He knew that he loved her. He had always loved her. He would always love her.
Jacob’s hand firmly grasped the weathered post of the gate. He looked down and saw not a wrinkled hand filled with age spots but a broad firm hand filled with the power of youth. One swing, one step would be all that it took to walk back in time and enter her world. How many times does life give us a do-over? How many times can we face regrets? How many opportunities to hold a dream? How many souls get a chance at true love?
The thunder was coming quickly. Jacob could almost smell the sweat rolling off that beautiful black stallion. The snort of the horse almost got him to look up. They were so close. He slowly started to move the gate open. Now Jacob, Now. The wind whispered sweetly to him. Caressing his face. Pulling him closer to the gate and the world of his dreams.
It was the moment of truth. He thought of his wife Margaret. She was beautiful and he missed her. He had loved her even though she never really loved him the way his soul had demanded. It was a love of comfort. A journey through life gaining strength from each other. He knew she deserved more. She deserved the magic of love that filled you overflowing. He moved the gate open and stood before it.
One simple step. One simple step.
Jacob held his breath and raised his right leg to make that motion that would propel him into that meadow. The motion that would change everything. It would negate all the twists and turns that his life had taken. Jacob breathed out and he thought of his children Judy and Gary. Those gifts were so unexpected. Youth has never shown how much joy and heartache can come from unselfishness. He remembered so many times that he had prayed to take their pain as his own. How he would trade everything to give them all. How…
Jacob smiled and he knew. He slowly pushed the gate closed and looked up as Jessica rode by. Her smile was everything that he remembered. The joy cut through him but it no longer held him powerless. He smiled and waved to her then turned and headed back home.
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