We gather here today, to celebrate the union of a man and a woman. This most special day hereby announces to the world of the coupling of these two souls. Marriage is the bond that will keep these two standing before you together, God willing, till the day they die. may they be blessed and may we all be there to support and guide them as they unite and go on with their lives." as the priest continued to speak to the guests seated outside in simple white chairs, the man and woman whom the priest referred too, stared at each other with expecting and happy eyes. The bride adorned in a simple white dress with very little frills, her hair pulled into an elegant bun on the back of her head. The groom, a hansom soldier wearing his decorated Class-A uniform, golden trim on the shoulder, black coat and pants with a white stripe down the side, a white hat adorned his head with the military insignia in the center.
Almost forgetting their lines when they came, they had total focus on each other, and not once letting their eyes divert attention to anything other than the person in front of them. If they had, they would have noticed a tall man in similar formal attire quietly make his way around the side of a building that screened the wedding from the rest of the world, the rest of the enclosure surrounded by trees and gardens. If anyone had taken notice of the man the only thing they would have seen out of the ordinary was the black, wide brimmed hat on his head, and if they had been able to take a closer look; polished riding boots most commonly used in rodeos. He waited in the back, taking cover in the cool shade of the building.
The bride and groom now putting the rings on each others fingers grew in excitement knowing the time was almost upon them. "And now if any here have a reason these two people should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace" he let this sentence hang in the air for a moment before turning his attention back to the pair. But as he opened his mouth to complete the ceremony, a voice spoke up from the rear of those seated, “I have something to say before you can complete today’s work Father.” All heads turned to look at this stranger that none had seen before as he slowly walked from where he had waited and approached the aisle between the rows of chairs. “I have something to say to the bride before she is united with this man.”
Suddenly and unexpectedly the bride realized who this person was and shouted at him “I have nothing to say to you sir. And if you continue to interrupt my wedding I will have you escorted out.” Many looked back at the bride and wondered at the anger on her face; they not knowing who this man is and obviously only the bride did very well. The stranger came on still until the groom let go of the bride’s hands and started toward the man. “You will say what you have to say, now, and to all of us.” Said the groom. “That. Is not possible, seeing as only the bride will understand, it is for her ears only,” Replied the stranger. “And you will not stop me.”
“You won’t take another step forward” threatened the groom, his crisp class A uniform ruffled in the quick steps he made towards the dark man, his gloved hands tightened into fists as the man continued to walk towards the raised platform. “You will not have any words with my wife that I also cannot hear!” shouted the increasingly angered groom. “She is not your wife until the Father says so sir and I will speak to her before I leave this place.”
The soldier groom now only a few steps away from the approaching stranger was then overcome with anger and lifted his fists and swung one at the oncoming face of the stranger. And as if expecting the blow, the stranger stepped aside with a face that resembled sheer boredom, but his eyes were bright and his body was in tune to his every command. He followed through with his dodge and while stepping aside kept a leg outstretched to trip the groom and with a hand on his back forced the groom to fall head-over-heels and hat flying askew onto the black carpet that made up the aisle.
The stranger turned to look at the fallen soldier taking his eyes from the front of the ceremony. To everyone’s surprise his eyes closed. They wondered at this but, to him he was focusing his senses and could hear a quickly approaching person. The whistling sound accompanying the unknown foe announced to him another flying object coming at him, and as the cane came swinging at his head he lowered himself and dodged again, this time from the furious bride’s father, who had stolen the clubbing instrument from an elder.
The second foe now off balance, again the stranger pushed him causing him to fall in similar fasion to the groom. The stranger stood facing the platform now and with arms outstretched he questioned “Has everyone witnessed this act of violence on such a happy occasion? I come only to speak to the bride and am assaulted twice now. Such anger surely means there are problems unresolved in this family? Well perhaps I should speak my peace to the bride and go my way.”
His step was interrupted by the ring of metal on metal as the groom withdrew his blade from his scabbard, although normally only used for decoration, it now was being used as a weapon, very capable of inflicting damage on those who got in its way. The intent was obvious on the face of the groom who now wielded the sword. “I would not normally shed blood on a day like today but you bring me no choice as you have interrupted my wedding, humiliated me and insulted my father in law” said the groom who held the blade level and to no ones surprise in the direction of the stranger.
“I too would not shed any blood of any kind unless it be one who first draws any weapon against me. But let it be known that it was not I who drew first.” Replied the dark man whose face did not change except perhaps to a state of sadness of having to be delayed once more in his errand, and in one fluid motion he removed his jacket and displaying for all to see a leather halter around his chest which if it had not been there would have displayed a hansom vest, but all eyes were drawn to the short sword attached to his back; it came out with a sharp singing noise that hinted of being honed to perfection.
The guests, who by now seeing both weapons drawn, had moved away from the men in the aisle by sliding across multiple seats and shoving others off at the other end of each row. They were in a state of shock seeing such a display of fierce anger by the groom, and cool control by the intruder. The men turned to face each other. The groom holding the sword pointed at the stranger, who merely looked into the face of the groom, while his own blade was in his right hand, hilt held down while blade touched his sleeve near his elbow.
The brides father who had recovered from his fall was now behind the groom and seeing the look in the strangers eyes knew full well he meant what he said if anyone got in his way, Speaking to the groom he yelled, “Stop this madness!” but the groom was blinded by anger and without warning charged the man. The man stood calmly waiting for the approaching fury, watching the footing and calculating his angry foe. And just as he had displayed earlier, he again slid aside while blocking the groom’s wild swing with his own blade. He spun and blocked the return swing of the groom as if he expected the dance of the swinging metals that flew through the air.
His blocking strokes were slow and deliberate, gauged and properly applied to the swift and irregular blows delivered by the groom. Again and again he dodged and blocked with cool anticipation as both men showed their training, the groom showing no restraint and the stranger showing something in the way of more practice and training in the way of swordsmanship than his foe. But held back from any openings the groom might have had. Finally, as if bored, he started to become faster and went on the offensive against the groom who until previously had had the upper hand, and was now clumsily defending himself from the onslaught of blows from the smaller, faster blade of the stranger, who’s face was still unchanged since the beginning of the match. Unlike the stranger, the groom was already sweating and was visibly worried as he gave up ground to this man.
The flurry of blows the stranger called down upon the groom intensified until suddenly he found himself defenseless, the sudden thrust and twist of the short sword had caught the groom off guard and the stranger had simply flicked his blade so that the sword was sent soaring through the air to land tip first into the ground where it stood quivering, waiting for its owner to take it up again. The groom raised his hands in surrender to the short blade that he now found pointing into his face. The stranger now satisfied he could do as he wished said loudly enough for all to hear, “I will now speak with the lady, and any who get in my way will end up like this man.” Waiting a moment to see if any others challenged him, the stranger withdrew the blade and secured it once again to his back where it had come from. And strolling up the aisle he swept up his coat that he had deposited on an empty chair. He climbed the few stairs that mounted onto the short platform where the priest and bride stood.
The priest’s mouth moved open and closed but no sound came out as the man approached him. “Excuse me Father” the stranger said as he gently brushed him aside and moved on to the lady in white who stood with a face that might have frightened any other who dared to look at it, but the stranger regarded it with a small amount of sadness. “I was almost unable to find out the date and place of your wedding, it was almost as if you didn’t want me to know,” He said to her. “But there are still some who were able to tell me what I wanted to know who also had no problem knowing I was coming here.” She continued to look at him with fire in her eyes as he spoke, but was ignored by the man who seemed to know no fear.
“I came not to fight but to lay to rest an uneasiness I have had in my soul since the day we last saw each other. We parted in such anger; I was unable to say what my heart felt. And even though I’m sure you still would not have listened, I still should have said it.” He paused a moment, almost as if summoning up the courage to speak what he had waited so long to say to his long ago friend. “I loved you once; you had more problems than you do now and needed someone to lean on. And you found me, quite literally in the fields of the country. You came to me as a friend, and told me your desires and secrets. You shared your life and spirit with me. I had found myself happier than id ever been in my life and knowing I would never be this happy again, I made sure you knew my intentions and the measure of love I had found with you.”
If the audience behind him had been able to see his face, they would have looked upon one who had seen many things and felt much pain. His voice was calm, but they could tell it was backed with small amounts of pain as he recalled the past. “And when the time came when I needed you, you were there for me. It seemed too good to be true that I had so easily found one that, perhaps I would be able to spend the rest of my life with. How foolish I was then. There was a time I thought we could get through anything, you and I. But I was wrong, we went through rough times and when I reached out to you, you only ran from me. I was wrong then to speak angrily to you."
"But know this. If you continue to run from those that love you. You will never be able to go forward in life. I only pray you can do well with this man now. And you won’t repeat past mistakes that lead to broken spirits and shattered hearts.”
He then produced from the breast pocket of his vest a small, crumpled, and worn piece of folded paper. He handed it to her and as soon as it left his hand he turned away. Looking in his eyes one would have seen great pain.
‘The eyes are the doorway to the soul’ they say, which may or may not be true. But this day it was true for this man, who as he walked bowed his head, and to those closest, it seemed that he cried inwardly. The note, now opened by the bride, fluttered in the small breeze that accompanied the warm day. The bride, who’s angered face that had until a moment ago been so distinct, had faded into a blank stare as she slowly recognized that which she had written once. And if it were possible, someone could have sworn she shed a very small tear onto that paper. She then let it fly into the wind that also carried the birds of the air. But this man-made object did not have any guidance, nor did it have any purpose as it continued on its journey into the unknown, to land only God knows where.