FLAME

Two hands met over the hearth. Both wanted to feel the warmth, to light a fire... At first, they stepped back, but not for long... They met again to ignite a tiny spark in the hearth. The spark began to slowly, gently creep across the very dry wood. Heat began to fill the room. The spark formed into a tiny flame. As time passed, it grew brighter, stronger. It became strong enough to provide the hands with warmth, a great deal of heartfelt warmth...

Once the flame had become a bright and powerful flame, something unexpected happened... Suddenly... a little water was poured on the flame. It hissed ominously... Did it go out? No, it didn't, it wasn't discouraged, instead, it burst into an even brighter flame. It was as if the attempt had strengthened it. This brought great joy to the hands, for it grew even warmer.

And just when everything seemed to be in order, the flame diminished, becoming a tiny flame again. My hands grew sad, yet at the same time they began to frantically search for an answer to the question: what had happened? How could this be changed? Then they saw the reason – the sticks were already burnt out… They understood – to keep the flame alive, to always be warm, we need to take care of it, to keep adding more sticks. Do you think – will my hands take care of that?

XXX

We met recently… Slowly and gently, a spark ignited between us, slowly growing into a flame. We're already warm and safe together…

But… sometimes you 'pour a little water on the flame,' meaning misunderstandings can arise, and sometimes you have to say difficult things to each other, 'let the water over the dam.' But as I'm sure you've noticed, Ania, moments like these strengthen our flame, what we've ignited together. And I want this to always unite us, never divide us.

We don't want the flame to fade, do we? You wrote me beautiful words: 'I feel something beautiful, something great, is being born within me...' I feel it too. But if we want it to last, we have to 'add wood' to the fire. What will those 'wood' be?

Conversations together and moments spent together in silence, admiring our beloved mountains and sharing our impressions, but also washing dishes together and joking about it, because I personally don't enjoy that activity...

And above all, talking about how we feel, how we perceive each other, what we don't like, and what we are grateful for...

I extend my hand to you... Will you give me yours?