Forbidden Love

In her youth, Teodora was considered by most a handsome girl. She was of average height, slender, and of fare complexion. She boasted long dark brown hair that she always kept in a braid, was well blessed in the chest, and had wide hips, good for birthing. Her deep blue eyes under her dark eyebrows were the talk of the village.

All the boys in the village fumbled about themselves in her presence. One after the other would call upon her at her fathers’ shop, where she assisted him in making and repairing sails for His Majesty’s fleet. Each would come with flattery, gifts of flowers, fine clothing, and gallant horses, or promises of riches and travels to far off lands. But Teddy, as she liked to be called, turned away each one with a kind word and a peck on the cheek. For unbeknownst to these boys, and her father, Teddy’s heart belonged to another.

Teddy’s heart has belonged to her best friend from the time they could walk. They grew up in neighboring cottages and so their parents had become best of friends as well. Not a day went by where they were not together, tending their chores, grooming their horses, preparing meals, and tending to their studies. However, their favorite pastime was fishing at the nearby creek.

Every day after supper they would head off with their rods, line, and bucket, and spend the rest of the day light by the creek. Some days they would fish, some days they would explore, but as they got older, many days were spent talking, wishing, dreaming, and eventually, loving. But as with all good things, Teddy’s happiness came to a sudden end.

Teddy woke one morning to find that her loves house was empty. There was no sign. The horse and carriage were gone. All their belongings had disappeared. Teddy was heartbroken, devastated. She woke her father to find out what had happened. His response was blunt, but kind. “They had to go my love. Seamus saw you two at the creek. He had to take them far away before anyone else found out”.

Seamus had seen. They were found out. Teddy could not even manage words. Then she realized that her father knew. He was too calm. He had known all along. Teddy simply fell into her father’s arms and wept and wept. So many feelings came on her at once, emptiness, guilt, horror. She could never imagine her life without her best friend, her love. She knew she could never love anyone the same way.

Teddy spent the next 10 years of her adult life working in her fathers’ shop, still living at home with her parents as was custom for a single woman, not having ever loved another. She rejected all the village boys’ proposals with the same kindness her father had shown her on that heartbreaking morning. A kindness and loving he had always shown her she realized, even knowing what she was. Until one day, she received a letter:

My Dearest Teddy

I have missed you so much these years. I have tried many times to write you, but I have been prevented from having any communication with you. I am always being watched for my own safety. My father saw us that last night at the creek, and for fear for both you and I, moved our family to France. I had to write you to let you know that I well, and that I have missed you all these years. I have never married or been with another. My heart still and always will belong to you. Farewell my love.

That one simple letter was all it took to bring all of Teddy’s feelings rushing back. Her love was alive. And in France. She had to go to France. Without thought, Teddy rifled through her father’s desk drawer, pocketed away his compass, and his map of Western Europe. She grabbed a new sail for the dinghy her father had just built, packed a few supplies, and set sail to find her best friend, her forever love Anna.