If Snowflakes Were Love: A Story of Love Loss and Acceptance

Every February 10th Stanley and Betty would find their way down to the shoreline to celebrate their special day. It was a place of memories, both good and bad.

They met here on the beach as teenagers, in a time when you could drive your car onto the sand, sit on the hood and watch the pretty girls go by as you pulled out a cigarette that was tucked neatly in the back of your ear.

The epitome of cool, Stanley watched 18 year old Betty walk by with her friends, her head thrown back in laughter, toes wet from the gently lapping waves. The summer sunshine filtering through her blond hair that was bleached lighter thanks to the lemon spritz she had concocted.

Her high waisted red polka dot shorts revealed long tan legs, while her hands casually cast on the shoulder of her giggling best friend revealed long manicured nails that matched.

Stanley’s heart did a flutter as he jumped off the hood of his ten year old, but gleaming ‘51 Packard 250, catching Betty’s eye.

Six months later Betty was pregnant, and a shotgun wedding meant her dreams of a June wedding dissipated like the mirage of steam found on a hot rural highway.

Stanley took her hand on February 10th on the now icy windswept beach where they had met one summer day, and promised his life to her.

Eighteen years later to the day, they both wept as they gently placed the ashes of their eldest child in the same waters that had brought them together.

And today, 35 years hence, Stanley returned to the same spot to lay Betty’s ashes to rest.

In between they had a beautiful life. The ups and downs of a life lived together for over half a century were less like a rollercoaster and more like a sailboat.

The storms had come, but together Stanley and Betty adjusted the sails and manned the helm. Sunny days filled with warm breezes meant they allowed themselves to be transported over gentle waters. Every season of their lives brought some beauty, and this day was no different.

“Imagine if snowflakes were love,” Betty had once said on a snowy February 10th years ago.

Stanley looked upward toward the sky as Betty’s love showered down upon him. Large fluffy snowflakes falling softly all around him. Her gentle, joyful essence surrounding him like a warm and comforting hug. Each cool flake melting as it fell into the palm of his extended hand.

He looked up noticing the trees entwined, reaching out for each other, some limbs cut, others paused in a skyward embrace.

He could feel her surround him as he watched the squirrels at play. She’s right here he thought to himself, in the silence of the snowfall, just beyond the fragile white tissue that separated them . Every snowflake full of her love. Love as they say, never dies. It’s there in the quantum magic of the universe waiting patiently for you. Just as Betty awaits Stanley.

If you prefer, watch the story narrated in this video with beautiful winter and beach scenes. See the Beauty, Feel the Joy.

Do you believe in the existence of a life after death? Let me know in the comments below.

If you are interested in the subject, here’s an interesting article I found online.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064513001188