May I ask what you are looking for? I said. “Yesterday,” she replied. “I think it went that way with last week,” I said, laughing. “Oh, I came here in search of something, a memory I need to revisit,” she said. Well, you know she had my attention now. “So, you left it here?” “I could swear it was that tree. Or maybe that one.”

She turned slowly toward me cocking her head slightly and asked, “How did you know?”

“You look like you were loved all your life,” I said. Her shoulders sank abruptly. “From the day we met,” she whispered. “And until you meet again,” I added. She nodded. “You understand, don’t you…” I said, “I am an old romantic.”

“I know this was our tree. He called it ‘The Sweetheart Tree,’” she said. “There was a popular song at the time...” I knew it, and, never one to be shy, I began to sing the beautiful tune by Henry Mancini: They say there’s a tree in the forest… “That’s it!” she whispered as she placed her hand gently over her mouth.

“You don’t need to find the carving in the tree to realise, like the song says, “Your love will be true evermore.” Now, you might think I made this one up...but just then a breeze passed through, carrying with it the first falling blossoms of a nearby tree. “A tree that will give you a sign,” I said in amazement.

“Thank you,” she said, satisfied, and walked away. If you ask what I value most about life...it’s love. To love and to be loved. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)