One Last Kiss
H. Steven Robertson, May 22, 2008

Vanessa made her way back to the booth where she and her boyfriend had just celebrated their first anniversary of a year together with a steak dinner. As the young lady slid into the seat, she was puzzled as to the look on Barry's face. It was as if he had experienced a visit from the supernatural in her short absence to wash up after the meal.

"Barry, you look like you've seen a ghost. What are you thinking about?"

"Oh-my-gosh, Vanessa, I just had the weirdest vision--vision, daydream, something like that. It was so real that I'm completely in awe and don't completely know what to make of it."

"You wanna= tell me about it?"

"Yeah, but hold on to your seat for this one. It's gonna be a ride.

"I had this vision of myself only it was about 60 years from now. I was quite an old man--glasses, white hair, wrinkled skin, tottering walk; and I was taking a stroll along a pathway by a beautiful lake.

"As I looked up, I saw a person walking towards me from the opposite direction. Even with my poor eyesight, I was able to tell she was an elderly female. Then something magic happened. As I looked her direction when we had gotten quite close, I found her eyes were locked on mine. I was overcome with one of the weirdest feelings of my life. We had recognized each otherCno not our aging bodies, but something in our eyes. It was you! We were both in our 80's.

"As it happened, we had drifted apart after many months, actually three years of being partners and living together when we were youngCour age now. We had each gone our own way, found lovers and spouses, raised families, and lived the trials and tribulations of life for the past years. Until that moment, we had never seen one another again."

With eyes the size of manhole covers, Vanessa stared in awe, trying to assimilate all that Barry was telling her. Sixty years from now--an old man and an old woman who were, in reality, them--this was almost too much. "Gosh, Barry, this is really wild . . . I don't know what to think."

"Just wait until you hear the rest. With both of our hands, we reached out to one another, clasped them together and sidled over to sit on a park bench that overlooked the lake. Not one word was spoken between us, but eyes never left eyes and there was a communication and understanding going on that transcended common speech.


"Then, with no provocation or warning, both of us leaned forward and gently touched our lips together. It was like the fireworks grand finale on the Fourth of July when we touched. Days and years flew back in time like the pages of a calendar caught in a windstorm. We both were transmogrified back to our youth that we are experiencing right now. There really aren't words for all the feelings that passed between the two of us. The kiss only lasted seconds. Physically, it was only a touch, but the outcome was staggering.

"There was no remorse, no yearning; it wasn=t an experience of having lost someone--it was a celebration of the time in our lives that who we were, the things that we shared, became part of the adults we eventually became. We were virtual children back then, practicing for life and what we each meant to the other was substantial at the time. People never forget the others in their lives who helped them in the discovery of existence. I had never forgotten you, nor you me.

"Then, with our never having spoken a word, eyes still riveted on each other's, you let go of one of my hands and gently patted the other that you still held with yours. With that, you rose and walked off into the distance. It would be the last time we ever saw each other."

While he was telling his story, Vanessa had reached over and taken both of Barry's hands in hers. They held on now as they looked deeply into each other's eyes. "Barry, that is truly the most incredible story I have ever heard. Actually, it is so eerie I have no idea as to what to make of it. At the same time, it is the most touching story ever told to me. I really don't want to think about it, but there is no way I can avoid it. I do know that I love you."

A small tear escaped the corner of Vanessa's eye and slowly began to descend her cheek. Barry reached over and gently wiped it away with his fingers. At the same time, they both leaned across the table and gently touched lips. It was an extraordinarily tender and meaningful kiss. Then, with each of them having an arm wrapped around the other, Vanessa and Barry walked out of the restaurant.