Grace gave Daniel a bear hug. “I have missed you so much, Dan, thought I'd never see you again!”, Grace said excitedly. Daniel knew he had to act like a man, so he hid his emotions. It’s been five good years since they last met, and the memories still feel like they happened yesterday. Amidst his emotional thoughts, he managed to ask, “how have you been?” Grace looked straight into his eyes and replied, “I think about you every day. I kept my promise!” Daniel couldn’t believe his ears. He could only scream in his mind, “what?!”
Grace and Daniel are childhood friends. They lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school. Among their peers, they were tagged “lovers” even as young as they were. Daniel was about a year and a half older than Grace, and they had been so fond of each other. They even wear matching Halloween outfits. The funny thing is that nobody could trace the origin of their love story. It all happened like a brother-sister thing when they were in juvenile class, but they later graduated to a new subject tagged “Chemistry” in college. Exactly five years before they met again in their village, an emotional event occurred that almost led to their separation.
Every single kid in Charlton Village had already gotten their costumes, and everywhere was well decorated with scary props and gifts to suit the “trick or treat” yearly ritual. Aside from Daniel, Grace had a few other friends who weren’t all close but were still her friends. Every year, even when Daniel was young, he was always the first to get Grace a Halloween gift. He had gone as far as making a Halloween snowman with the help of his friends and surprising Grace with it. Grace was a big fan of Halloween, and Daniel knew how much this meant to her. But this particular year, Daniel was nowhere to be found. Grace went to Daniel’s house but discovered the house was locked and nobody was at home.
John was one of Grace’s friends and had always been jealous of Daniel’s lucky love story, but he never showed it! He was equally Daniel’s friend, and no one would suspect him of nursing such dark thoughts. Whatever came upon John the day Daniel was absent pushed him to try his luck at getting a gift for Grace. As a college teen, Grace was a beauty to behold, and aside from John, almost every guy turned their head to have a glimpse anytime she passed by. Daniel was the head boy at the college, and no one dared mess with the head boy’s “babe”, especially within the school premises. John saw Halloween as an opportunity to try his luck, and as if he knew Daniel wasn’t present, he approached Grace with his gift—a pair of spooky slippers! It wasn’t really the gift that got Grace’s attention, but the fact that she longed for Daniel’s presence. She accepted the gift. Deep down, she wasn’t comfortable, but she longed for someone to spend the moment with, and Daniel was nowhere to be found, so she went for the alternative. As she was strolling the streets with John, rocking the new spooky slippers, Daniel came out of nowhere! She was shocked to see him, she felt so embarrassed and ran all the way home. Daniel could only give John the “you betrayer” looks, while John replied with gestures that could only be interpreted as “it’s not what you think.”
Daniel got back home, but he still couldn’t believe what he saw. Earlier that day, his father got an emergency call—his brother (Daniel’s uncle) had been admitted to the village clinic. George was rushed to the clinic due to severe stomach pain, which almost took his life, and as a close member of the family, everyone was so concerned, including Daniel, that they rushed to the health center. He later recovered. Daniel never expected the shocker he got from Grace! But for the first time, it dawned on him that it was the first Halloween he spent without Grace, and then he remembered the gift he bought for her!
Grace felt disappointed and had no idea how to approach Daniel. However, after consulting her female friends, who approached Daniel and confirmed his love for her, she came begging and explained her point of view. Daniel accepted her apology and equally explained what happened. A few months later, Daniel completed his college education and had written some exams, which got him admission to a university in a town far away from Charlton Village. He was concerned and really disturbed, especially in light of recent events. He may need to leave his love for some time long enough to lose her! But Grace gave her word and promised that she would never stop loving him, no matter what! In about a year, Grace also got admitted to another university far away from Charlton Village. She, however, kept her promise and never said yes to another guy through her undergraduate days!
After five years, Daniel was shocked that Grace hadn’t moved on. He had tried two other relationships, and the last of the two ended before he came to the village. His emotions crept in because Grace’s love came as a good replacement, and a timely one at that. The only question he couldn’t answer was whether he was unworthy of the love or whether Grace deserved his unfaithfulness as payback for her mistake on Halloween’s day.