New Years Romance

All around the harbour fireworks dazzled the night and lit up the city at New Years Eve .

Jim and Nell were on a holiday and in this distant place had met .
The world seemed young and free and as they stood together beside the Sydney harbour bridge their eyes and their thoughts drifted far out to sea .

Jim was from America and Nell from Ireland .
As the fireworks exploded that night Jim and Nell were thinking of their families at home and missed being with them . It was the first time they had left their home and so they had a lot in common .
Maybe that’s what brought them together in the first place .

Earlier on that evening they had shared a drink in a bar near the Rocks and after a while they opened up and started to share some of their travel experiences and then as they got to know more about each other they had a another drink and by the time they really sat down to have a drink they began to share their feelings about life the love of their home and loved ones so far away .
Nell had left her home after her young brother was killed in a car crash .
She need time out .
As she told Jim about the accident teardrops tumbled down her cheeks .
Jim wiped them away and listened intently to every word she said .
When she had finished talking,Jim began to share some of his personal life with her .
He had just returned from active service with the army and found it hard readjusting back into the community .
He had seen too much in the previous six months and needed to find space to collect his thoughts .
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and in that place Jim and Nell found an understanding that drew them close . They were reconnecting themselves to life and there as they sat in a Sydney bar all of a sudden things began to make sense .
Together they left the bar and walked the streets of Circular Quay . The night was warm and the air was electric . Buskers were entertaining the passers by along the pier and sidewalks were busy with people in a party mood .
Jim and Nell felt at ease with each others company and rested for a while on a seat . As they sat in silence moonbeams rested across the surface of the harbour and slow moving yachts and boats made their way to anchor and await the firework display that would soon begin .
From bars patrons began to flow out onto the pavement and the excitement was building . Jim took Nell hand and they walked along together for the first time in love .
As hard as it was for them to be away from their home on New Years Eve they found each other and there in that situation they could turn away from their loneliness and look into each others eyes where the reflection left more than a memory .

Some of the church bells around the city chimed . It was eleven O’clock and only an hour to go before the new year arrived which meant it was time to make their way down to find a good vantage point near the harbour .
They eventually found a spot and sat down . At first unsure what to say or do they just looked at the boats on the harbour .
Words were hard to find . Every ripple on the water was an emotion that spoke for itself . Love was there in the air .
Jim knew that memories of the war often swept over him and was worried about how the sound of the fireworks would go with him .

Nell understood and saw the beauty in all of that .

It was long long ago that her Mum fell in love with the man she married and oh how many times her mother had said how she wished the whole world could have known just how much she loved him . Nell’s father was killed in the war and from that day her Mum had given her life to her family .
The death of her young son had devastated her and all the family and Nell knew she had to get away for a while . Her meeting with Jim in Sydney was exactly the thing she needed in her life .
As Jim and Nell sat there together , Nell whispered softly to the distant sea .

“Oh but it's lonely I am without you Ireland and yet I know I’ll be home soon.”

Jim looked up to the sky and whispered ,

“I can’t change what happened but I have to get on with my life .”

The first of the fireworks exploded in the sky and Jim hit the ground . Nell brushed her fingers through his hair and told him not to worry .
He smiled and as the countdown to midnight began , they looked into each others eyes .As the New Year arrived they both kissed each other full on the lips and in their embrace the union between them was sealed .
Both of them knew how they felt and they promised themselves to one another .

Before that year was out Jim and Nell were married in a tiny little church in Ireland . After their honeymoon in Sydney was over they returned to Ireland and started their journey together and life is a wonderful thing .

The End

By Paul McCann