It seems like only yesterday that we met.
It was my first day at Itazuke High School and
you were standing there so confidently, talking
to your friends. I kept glancing your way and
finally as our eyes met, you greeted me with a
soft smile. You were the most beautiful young
woman that I had ever seen and the warmth which
rushed through my heart told me that you were so
very special. Little did I know at that moment,
the rest of my life would be spent loving you.
I have so many fond memories of those years which
we shared together in Japan. Our first date and
even our first kiss. The anticipation of being
with you as I walked through the narrow streets
of Takamiya leading to your house. The walks we
took under moonlight skies, dancing ever so close
to the songs of Johnny Mathis, talking about the
things which seemed most important at the time.
But the memory which I treasure most was the
night I asked you to marry me and you said yes.
That was the happiest moment of my life.
And from that night forwards, my life was never
quite the same again. My heart, my soul, my very
being, was devoted to loving you. And the days we
shared from that day on would be forever embedded
in my mind.
Spring turned into summer and another season of loving you slipped into the past. And then your father's work called him back to the states. When you told me that you had to return with
him, I never gave up hope of being with you in
the near future and continuing our plans to be
married. I never told you this, but as I watched
your plane climb higher and disappear into the
distant skies, tears came to my eyes and I
couldn't stop their flow. From that day forward,
solitude and
loneliness became my best friends. In the days
and months ahead, my letters were answered almost in
silence. And the few which were answered never
contained words relating to our love. My mind
told me that the love you once had for me was
gone, but in my heart I knew that I would love you
for as long as I lived.
Not long afterwards, Dad was transferred to
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. I had a new home.
I don't remember now how many times I wrote to
you. I only remember the emptiness I felt without
you. Later I married someone I knew for less that
eight weeks and became a father the following
year. You married shortly thereafter. I had no
way of knowing that you still loved me and you
had no way of knowing that I still loved you.
Over the years to come, however, we never lost
contact with each other. And with each letter and
each phone call, we only confirmed what we knew
in our hearts already.
There were so many, many times over the years
when I would search for a secluded place and let
my thoughts wander back in time to Japan and the
moments spent with you there. Oh, how I wished
that I could have seen your smile or heard the laughter of your voice once again. And the emptiness inside would bring tears to my eyes and a pain to my heart that it had never known before. Christmas would
find me alone late at night, gazing upon the
lights on the decorated tree, with you in my
thoughts. And each year on your birthday, I would
whisper,"Happy Birthday Yoshiko....I love you." And
at night , I would gaze up into the heavens and
wonder if you were watching them also. And the
number of times over the years which I thought of
you became the same as the stars in
the heavens.
My life has been devoted to loving you and
even as I read your letters once again tonight, I
long to be with you . It has been
so many years since I last saw your face,
but in my mind I can see you as if it were only
yesterday.
The years have past so swiftly. When I look
into the mirror, I see the face of a man old in
age now. But when I look at your pictures...I
feel the heart of a young boy. You are still
there in my heart and in my thoughts and in my
dreams.
Maybe tonight you will think of me....And if
you do, I pray that it will be with love and
remembrance of the young man who so long ago
promised to love you with all of his heart and
soul untill time no longer existed.
Goodnight sweet Yoshiko...I love you.