Memories of Marseille

In the streets of Marseille, life brought us together. I was at the beginning of my life, you could say I was a child who knew nothing. All I knew was love, because I grew up in a family filled with love. I always saw my mother’s love for my father, and how she left her country and family to be with him.

When I returned with my mother to her family’s house in Marseille, I loved the city so much and adored every detail of it: its streets and gardens, and the smell of French coffee, which I never liked, but it remained stuck in my memory because it is unique. I also remember well the smell of bread wafting through the streets from the bakery.

I remember when my mother and I visited your family; you were sitting at the lunch table, silent and not saying a word. I didn’t know then if you were a shy young man or if silence was your nature. I liked you from our first meeting, and although I was a shy and unassertive girl, I dared to talk to you and break down the barriers between us, getting closer to you.

I shared with you a book I was reading during that vacation, and that’s where our story began.

I stayed in Marseille for two months, and you were with me every day and everywhere. I loved the city, and I loved you even more than it and everything else in the world.

I loved you, yes, I did.

I felt like a little bird flying in the sky of Marseille, happy to be with you, completely forgetting that every beginning has an end. Or maybe I didn’t think that our relationship would end.

I told you that I was a child who only knew love and didn’t understand endings.

I remember well when we were by the sea, you told me that you would volunteer for the army and wouldn’t go to university. I didn’t understand why you did that; you were a smart young man who could succeed in any field other than this. But you were very stubborn, and I couldn’t change your decision.

After the summer vacation ended, we parted ways, each going in our direction. I returned to my country, and you went to the army. We communicated a lot online, but something ended, or life distracted us from each other. I joined university right after returning to my home country.

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After all this, every time I visited Marseille, I felt empty without you and heard your voice in its streets. That’s why I decided not to visit it again, despite my deep love for it.

Now, I don’t know anything about you — are you alive or dead? I don’t have the courage or desire to know your news… But I heard that you left Marseille forever after returning from the army.

Nevertheless, I always pray for you in my prayers that God protects you.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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