A Touching Fairytale Love Story
After another quarrel, she ran to this rugged mountain path. When he finally caught up with her, panting heavily, she said, “Let’s break up!”
Gasping for breath, he replied, “Do you really think we have reached the point of no return? I believe our fate isn’t over yet.”
She said, “Unless a miracle happens.”
He looked at her for a long time and then said, “Alright, let’s do this: we’ll turn our backs to each other and walk our separate ways. But when we reach the ninety-ninth step, we must both stop and wait for five minutes to see if a miracle occurs. If not, then I’ll wish you the best right here.”
She agreed, “Fine, but if you follow me, we won’t even be friends anymore.”
So she resolutely took the first step forward, followed by the second, the third…
By the time she reached ninety steps, her pace had noticeably slowed. At the ninety-seventh step, she knew she was far from him. She realized deep down that she loved him and he loved her too. However, his personality was too straightforward, while she was a bit petty. Whenever his straightforwardness clashed with her pettiness, how could she not get angry? As a man, she thought, why couldn’t he be more accommodating? Why couldn’t he soothe her with gentle words? At that moment, she found him truly unforgivable.
She took another step—the ninety-eighth step. Guilt began to swell within her. She thought, throughout their relationship, it was mostly her fault. Although he was too straightforward, wasn’t it always him who made the first move to reconcile? Wasn’t it always him who coaxed her back to happiness? At that moment, she no longer blamed him as she had earlier. Instead, she started to regret why she said such heartless words over a trivial matter.
Finally, she took the ninety-ninth step. At this moment, she recalled every moment of their love. It had been three years, over a thousand days and nights of memories and happiness. Could they really be erased so easily? She distinctly heard a voice in her heart shouting: “No!” At this moment, she realized how much she cherished him—cherished his strong arms that once hugged her so tightly she could hardly breathe; cherished his solid back that had carried her countless times up this very mountain path; cherished the prickly sensation of his stubble when he kissed her; cherished his fingers that playfully pinched her nose; and cherished his warm hands that caressed her hair and back.
After completing the ninety-ninth step, she squatted down, covered her face with her hands, and rested her head on her knees. She cried, not out of anger at him, but for her own stubbornness.
At this moment, she heard slow, faint footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw him—or rather, she saw his back. He was stepping back slowly, cautiously on the rugged mountain path. A few times, she saw him almost slip, and each time her heart leapt into her throat along with his steps. When he finally stopped a meter in front of her, she heard him counting softly, “Ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight…” She could no longer hold back her tears. She ran up and hugged his waist tightly.
He turned around, wiped her tears, and said, “I didn’t follow you. I walked backward with my back to you. I thought I would have to step back ninety-nine steps for love, but the miracle happened when I had only stepped back ninety-eight.”
She said nothing, just buried her head in his chest until her tears soaked his clothes.
Six months later, she walked down the aisle, arm in arm with him. To his surprise, in all the days after their wedding, she never got angry with him, not even a minor quarrel, even when he was in a bad mood or had a temper. He asked her, “Why are you like this? Is this really your style?” She smiled and said, “For me, you stepped back ninety-eight steps for love. For love, why can’t I just step back ninety-nine?”
Stepping back ninety-nine steps for love sounds easy, but it’s actually very difficult. It requires not only genuine love between both parties but also a heart capable of forgiving the other.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
