A Broken Violin

"Once more unto the breach"

I was lost and alone, all love long since gone, I was all on my own. Nobody, no-one, not a single soul neither knew nor even cared to know I existed. And that was the way I liked it, or at least I told myself I did. The harsh truth of the matter was I had been badly burned by two previous failed marriages , as a result of which I gave up even trying. I reasoned to myself that at least on my own nobody could hurt me. I didn't have woman trouble because I didn't have a woman.

Quite a few times over the previous decade I had been played for a fool by women who had had their own bad experiences and just wanted to get back at men. One ex workmate in particular flirted with me for over a year and lead me on to believe that she had feelings for me. As soon as I played my cards by telling her I had fallen in love with her she kicked me in the nuts. Her rejection was brutal. That was the last straw and knocked me into a life of emotional seclusion. The door to my heart was firmly locked, the windows to my soul were shuttered, the portcullis to my very being was lowered to deter all borders. Or so I thought.

"Liam, se puedes ayudeme, por favor?"

These were the first words I heard from the owner of the breakfast bar across the street in the South of Spain. Maribel the owner stood behind me as I sat at a battered old table that might not last as long as the breakfast that had been laid out on top of it.

I turned to see a face with a smile as open and as wide the the Golden Gate Bridge. It was an Asian face with good manners and happiness written all over it.

"Es que ella no habla Espanol ni yo Japones. Entonces a ver si tu puedes explicar a ella donde esta el centro." said Maribel.

"Por supuesto, señora Maribel." I replied in Spanish.

It wasn't love at first sight. But for the first time in a decade, the person I was being introduced to was somebody who I felt like giving more than the time of day to.

"Ohayo, hajimimashite. Wa ta shi wa Liam des." (Good morning, I'm pleased to meet you, my name is Liam.) I said in Japanese. Being multilingual did have certain advantages, even if it was only for a little harmless social chit chat.

The young lady wanted some help to get to the town centre. Being at a loose end I offered to walk her down into town and gave her a short tour of essential places like the market, the post office and the bus terminus. At the same time she asked if I could help her find a shop where she could buy a backpack. However, since all the usual places didn't have exactly what she was looking for I offered to drive her out to the nearest out of town shopping mall.

Later that day I took her to Area Sur where we found the type of bag she was looking for. I was about to run her back into town when she suddenly asked me to take her to the nearest beach, which I had already told her was just a ten minute drive away. It was the beginning of a whole new life. How little did I know what glorious amazing surprises life had in store for me.

At the beach we kicked off our shoes and rolled up our jeans to take a stroll along the mile long shore line. As we got to the end of the beach and turned to walk back she stopped and asked me to take a photograph of her with a beautiful landscape in the back ground. When she saw the photograph I'd taken she smiled and said softly "Perfect."

"Not quite." I replied. "Take my hand for the walk back."

I really don't know what came over me to say what I said and half expected a slap in the face for my cheek. Fortunately she took my hand and smiled sweetly.

"There, now that is what I call perfect" I said as we started to walk with our feet just touching the sea where it petered out on the sand. It was indeed the perfect beginning to what turned out to be a beautiful romance.

Over the following two weeks we met on a daily basis but never seemed to get beyond holding hand, which was fine by me, I was in no hurry. Then one day she came to see me at home. My small apartment was full of musical instruments, pianos, guitars, a cajon and a violin.

It was my intention to learn to play the violin, and although I did take two or three lessons, life demands, like the need to earn a living, soon forced me to suspend classes. Since that time the violin had sat in its case on a shelf gathering dust.

We sat at my piano and she played a little for me. She played beautifully. And I was becoming more and more smitten with every single note she played.

Then she asked if she could see my violin.

"Mochiron desu (Of course)." I said as I reached up to get the sleeping instrument.

She took the violin out of its case and immediately tried to tune it. She over tuned one of the strings and it snapped with a very loud thwack. It was so sudden and loud and unexpected that it made me jump.

"Whoops." She softly exclaimed in such an understated tone I could barely catch it. At that we fell into each other's arms laughing and finally progressed to a lingering kiss.

Whoops indeed. For somebody to make light of what I would have otherwise been well and truly miffed at, both amused and bemused me in equal measure. At twenty five euros for that one string it was not what I would call a cheap error. However, I suppose when one comes from a country where earthquakes and typhoons frequently lay that country to waste, a country that was devastatingly nuclear bombed twice over, one has to wonder, what's a broken violin string? Put into that context, nothing. And since it turned out to be a pivotal moment in our relationship, what price true love?

From that point on I just knew that she and I were meant to be. And so it turned out. In time we fell head over heels in love with each other and to this day, some seven years later, we are inseparable, like a pair of Siamese twins.

She may have broken my violin, but she mended my broken heart. And for that, I am eternally grateful and blissfully happy.