Where Mountains and Seas Never Cross

In her sixties, my wife, Wanda Larson, secretly made a will stating that she wanted to be buried with her first love, Luigi Collins, after her death.

When I found out about this, I was so furious my hands shook uncontrollably.

"You’re my wife, the wife of Ethan Mitchell! You can only be buried in the Mitchell Family cemetery."

"What would people think if you shared a tomb with another man?"

At that moment, Wanda said nothing. She did not argue, did not defend herself. She just remained silent.

I tried scolding her, creating a scene and reasoning with her. Yet, she stayed unmoved.

On the third day of her hunger strike, I found myself sitting helplessly while watching her silently weep while clutching a photo of that man.

In the end, I finally let her go. I let myself go.

"Wanda, let's get a divorce."

Her once lifeless eyes lit up. She looked at me calmly and nodded. "Okay."

——

When our son, Lucas, heard about the divorce, he tried desperately to stop us. "Dad, Mom, you’re not young anymore. What’s the point of divorcing at this age? Don’t you think people will laugh at us?"

"Xavion is getting married soon and Xavier just got into college. It’s supposed to be a time for double celebration."

"If you two go through with this, it’ll tear the family apart!"

I sat quietly, not responding to his pleas. My gaze drifted toward the bedroom, where Wanda was quietly packing her belongings.

She had already bought a ticket to Estoria, where Luigi stayed and her flight was scheduled for the earliest possible time.

My wife could not wait to reunite with the man she truly loved.

Over the years, none of the clothes, jewelry, or gifts I gave her had meant anything to her. She had kept only the things that were truly hers.

Seeing his attempts fail, Lucas became desperate and tried to rush into the bedroom to stop her.

I blocked the bedroom door, standing firm but speaking calmly. "Lucas, no matter what happens, she is still the mother who gave birth to you and raised you."

"Since she’s made her decision, we should respect it."

Lucas stamped his feet in frustration and then stormed off without another word.

I was surprised. Knowing my son’s fiery temper, I had expected more resistance. How could just a few words make him back down so easily?

Turning back to the room, I stood outside and looked at Wanda. She felt familiar, yet at the same time, like a stranger. I said softly, "It's cold outside. Take the down jacket I gave you last year and don’t forget the thermal underwear."

She shook her head. " No, Luigi called earlier. He’s already bought everything I’ll need."

"Now that we’re divorced, you should let go of everything."

"I won’t wear the clothes you gave me to see Luigi."

"It wouldn’t be respectful to him."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

This was supposed to be about divorce, but it was as though I was sending her off on a trip.

From now on, someone else would love and care for her. So, why would she need an outsider to worry about her?

Before long, her packing was done.

The large suitcase was filled to the brim, most of it gifts she had carefully chosen for Luigi.

After she finished, she opened her jewelry box and pulled out a string of yellowed pearl necklaces from the bottom.

She put it on and it was as though her entire being lit up.

I realized then that I had never seen her wear that necklace in all the years of our marriage.

There was no need to guess who had given it to her.

Our decades of marriage had been calm. We rarely argued and we treated each other with distant respect as though we were guests in each other’s lives.

I loved her deeply, wholeheartedly.

She loved me, too, in her way, but I felt like there was an invisible wall between us.

Over the years, she kept her silence and never showed anything strange. It was not until I saw the will that I understood the truth.

I finally knew that the invisible wall was Wanda's first love, Luigi Collins.

I vaguely remembered when I helped her out of her wedding dress on our wedding night, she cried.

I had thought it was because of the bittersweet sadness and melancholy of a young bride.