It was written in the stars that their paths would cross, that their hearts would collide. It was etched onto the mug of coffee they had shared on their first date, back when red faces and shy smiles were all they could exchange. They wrapped themselves in an eternal blanket of happiness, so warm that they could suffer through the coldest of winter storms that ached to tear them apart from each other’s embrace. He was a converter of emotions, with the ability to change the tears of sadness into tears of joy.

The spring of 1950 bloomed fields of daffodils and daisies too numerous to count. Couples laid their picnic blankets in the midst of the sweet scented scenery so as to enjoy each other’s company. Anyone that wasn’t his darling sweetheart was ignored; even the chicken sandwiches and potato salad he spent so much time preparing were left uneaten. That wasn’t the only time they were left uneaten.

Every week from the day they first met, he prepared that same meal. Some weeks, it were devoured during the few moments that the laughter was paused; other weeks, they were once more left untouched. This went on for over 55 years of precious milestones. Their wedding ceremony took place in the midst of all the flowers. Their three children's first outing would be the trip to the park. They took their first steps in the flowers so that if they fell, they wouldn’t hurt themselves; they learned how to ride bikes on the pathways between the daffodils; they had their first kisses in the park- and their first heartbreaks.

Sentimental was an understatement for what this place was. He remembered that first date crystal clear, as if it were only yesterday, as he walked his delicate wife’s hospital bed to the spot they had first met, the nurse trailing a short distance behind. He laid out that same red and white checkered blanket he had years back and unpacked the chicken sandwiches and potato salad- it all looked the same as it had the first time. He lowered the bed as far down as it could go and sat down with her for the last time. She was wrapped up in her little pink bathrobe with gray slippers on her feet. She looked at him and smiled, not knowing why.

“I've loved you since the first day we were here, and I will love you far beyond the last.” His cracked lips met her wrinkled cheeks and she, barely able to mutter the words, said: “I think I remember this place.”

She would rest peacefully amongst the fields of daisies and daffodils for a long time to come.