the (fabricated) story of my ring: the final chapter.

{Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here Part 6 here, Part 7 here Part 8 here.}

In life, we are meant to meet certain people. Some stay forever because they're meant to. Some teach us a few things and drift out, because they're also meant to.

Nadine and George knew perfectly well that they were the forever kind of people for one another. George proposed to Nadine on the night of her stage acting debut. His mother passed away in the fall, leaving George her prized engagement and wedding rings. As a matter of fact, it was his mother that encouraged George to make a bold gesture to his Nadine. His mother recognized a note of happiness on his face that she had not seen there before and discovered George's secret hidden deep in his private soul. George took the rings with warm thankfulness, quite aware of the love and loyalty and honor they held.

Nadine and George shared a quiet life together. One without children, but with many animals. They grew plants, George wrote stories, Nadine continued to act in small venues, and the two of them shared a life full of happiness. When the Boston weather got too cold for the two of them, they moved to a small, quiet town in Florida named Micanopy. Although modest, it was the kind of town brewing with life, if its visitors were willing to dig just beyond the surface. The pair of lovebirds grew quite fond of the sleepy little town. In an effort to root a piece of themselves there, Nadine and George gave their wedding rings to a local antique shop in the hopes that some couple would pick them up and allow their love story to live on in some small way.

A couple did pick the rings up. The rings were first discovered by a girl and her mother. Then, on a winter's day, the couple (just the two of them) walked into the store and peered into the glass case. They both became quite aware in that moment that those rings were meant to reside on the girl's finger. So, the boy came back a few weeks later and picked them up, unbeknownst to the girl. And now, one ring rests on the girl's left ring finger. The other ring will join it in March of next year. And Nadine and George (although they are supposedly fabricated) will live on in those rings, a love story not forgotten.

The end.