Sample

We all have a story to tell, and now, you can give that story a forever home. Curious to see what your story would look like in the written form? We are pleased to present to you a sample chapter below. This chapter has been made available to you courtesy of Alex and Simone H. Please do not copy or distribute without permission.

There was a peculiar scent in the air that day, a scent she would later associate with a feeling of something about to happen, except nothing ever did happen again apart from that one remarkable day when she met the boy who would, many years later, become her husband. Simone couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly, the smell was that caught her attention and stayed in her memory as she stepped outside her apartment building in Cologne, Germany that one hot summer day. It smelled of warmth, she reflected, and of sunscreen, fresh flowers, and trees. There was something more, some other ingredient that made it special, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

It was 2006. Simone was seventeen years old, a high school student on summer vacation. The day was gorgeous. With nothing to do, she went outside and headed to the park across the street, planning to watch the neighborhood boys play football. It was part of a routine: she’d sit behind the goal post, waiting for the guys to take a break from their game so that she could chat with them or play along. This day, her routine was cut short before she even made it to the football field as a familiar figure intercepted her. It was ­Kevin, ­­her nemesis.

They had had a very brief two-week relationship, which Kevin broke off in the end. Afterwards, for reasons unclear, he developed a strange and negative attitude towards Simone. Every time they met, he’d get physical, delivering a punch or a kick while calling her nasty names. He sauntered up to her again this day, looking belligerent. She felt insecure by his incessant attacks and had a sudden urge to put an end to it. A thought appeared in her head: It was now or never. “I’m going to punch you today,” she declared. He must’ve felt the difference in her and immediately took to his heels, scrambling away. Simone trailed in hot pursuit.

He ran to the football field, which was where he felt safe, since that was where all the other guys were. Simone felt super-charged with energy and raced after him. All of a sudden, Kevin zipped behind a very tall boy, hiding behind him. Simone was tall, and Kevin was about the same height as her, but this boy towered over them both. She looked up and found herself gazing at a pair of large brown eyes. They captivated her attention, and she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks to appreciate how beautiful they were.

The boy looked curiously from Kevin to Simone, looking confused.

“Save me, Alex!” Kevin shouted then.

Alex, thought Simone, tucking the name away in her memory. But first things first.

“Can you please step aside?” she asked calmly. The tall boy obliged, upon which Simone ran up to Kevin and delivered a solid punch to his eye, as promised. Needless to say, he left the park for the day.

With her hindrance out of the way, Simone settled back into her routine and took a seat behind the goal post, except that was as far as her routine would go this day. The tall boy – Alex – soon approached and sat down next to her. There were always four or five teams hanging out around the field, and Alex’s team was taking a break while someone else played. Simone glanced over. He was drinking from a water bottle. “Hey,” he said, nodding casually in her direction, and they started talking.

Looking back now, Simone doesn’t remember what they said to each other that day at all, only that at one point, he mentioned he liked to play Ping-Pong, and she responded that she did too. They arranged to meet the next day in the park to play together. It was convenient, since they both lived close by.

And so they met and played a few matches, after which they sat on the Ping-Pong table and started talking. The summer air was comfortable. Everything felt right. Their conversation went on and on. Simone found herself attracted to this boy, and it was apparent the attraction was mutual. The only problem was, he was only fourteen years old.

From that day on, they settled into a new routine, meeting up for Ping-Pong every day in the park. Each day, Alex would show up wearing one of his oversized black T-shirts and a pair of skater jeans that were always so baggy they looked like they were about to fall off, and they would have a blast. The days blew by. Simone didn’t realize how indispensable the meet-ups became to her, until one day, Alex didn’t show up.

By then, she knew where his apartment was. Scrounging up her courage, Simone found her way over to the building and rang the doorbell.

“Who is this?” asked a man over the intercom.

Simone felt her courage falter. She presumed it was Alex’s father speaking, but really, she didn’t know anything about his household composition or who lived there.

“I’m Simone,” she said shyly and explained why she was looking for Alex.

Five minutes later, Alex came down, wearing sweatpants and Birkenstock sandals.

“I’m sorry, I can’t come out today,” he said. “My dad’s here.”

Simone wandered away listlessly to the football field and started playing football with the others. But then half an hour later, Alex appeared.

“Let’s go play Ping-Pong,” he said.

“Simone smiled to herself.

Soon thereafter, Alex began inviting Simone over to his place with the promise of making her ice cream. Simone arched her eyebrows at these invitations. Surely, her parents weren’t the only ones warning their daughters: “Don’t go off with guys who invite you over for sweets.”

“I’m going to give you ice cream with toppings,” Alex promised. “You’ll love it.”

Simone felt uncomfortable going over, since, truthfully, she still didn’t know him very well, and she told him as much. But then the invitations kept coming, and eventually, she found herself agreeing to go.

The day she went over to Alex’s place, his parents weren’t home. This made Simone nervous because what would a guy do when he invites a girl over to his place and the grownups aren’t around? Well, as it turned out, he’d make her ice cream, of course! Without preamble, he grabbed a bowl from the kitchen as soon as they entered the apartment and started scooping out ice cream, then adding various toppings. It turned out to be the best ice cream Simone had ever had. They ate it while watching movies.

Soon, she was over at his place frequently. Mostly, they binge-watched McLeod’s Daughters together behind closed doors. They never really met each other’s parents. There was a sense of unease that always loitered in the back of their heads that their parents might not approve of their growing friendship.

Gradually, they got to know each other, then started dating. Alex asked Simone one day if she wanted to be in a relationship. Simone thought of their age difference and said no. At fourteen and seventeen, the gap between them seemed immense and insurmountable.

Then one day, Simone went to the dentist to have a wisdom tooth removed. She was given local anesthesia, but it was still going to be uncomfortable.

“Think of something that gives you joy,” the dentist advised, saying this would help to distract from the discomfort.

Simone immediately thought of Alex. She thought of how he would take care of her after the procedure, and something swelled in her chest. A rush of happiness. That was the moment she knew she was in love. Whatever their age difference and whatever their parents might say, she knew then that yes, she wanted to be in a relationship with him.

The truth was, Alex didn’t look his age at the time. He looked much older.

Once, later on, when Simone was eighteen and Alex fifteen, they went to the movies together to see Saw V, which was Rated R. In Germany, the equivalent of the rating meant no one under 18 was allowed to view it. They forgot about the rating and bought two tickets, then realized only Simone was allowed in. As there were no refunds, they decided to try their luck. Alex went first. The usher barely looked at him as he took his ticket and ripped it in half, waving him in. Simone hid a smile and went next. The usher glanced at her and asked for her ID.

But appearances were only appearances, and to many, it was still the numbers that counted.

Backtracking to that first year they met: soon after the trip to the dentist, Simone decided to tell her mom that she had a boyfriend.

“It’s the guy from the park I’ve been playing Ping-Pong with,” she confided.

“Okay,” replied her mom. “How old is he?”

“He’s turning sixteen,” Simone lied. Her mom seemed okay with the tampered-with age, which really was only a year off.

A few weeks went by. One way or another, Simone’s mom and Alex’s mom got together at a café. They wanted to chat, since their kids were seeing each other.

“Are you okay with their age difference?” asked Alex’s mom outright.

“It’s not too bad, right?” replied Simone’s mom. “Your son’s turning sixteen, isn’t he?”

Alex’s mom paused.

“No, he’s turning fifteen.”

That’s when things turned sour. Simone’s mom stormed home in a state of fury and spewed a deluge of angry words at her daughter for deceiving her and dating someone who was only, in fact, fourteen at the moment. Simone ran away from home in a wretched mood. She went to a friend’s place to stay and turned off her phone.

A few days later, after tempers had calmed down somewhat, Simone returned home. She explained to her mom—with all the drama of a seventeen year old—why she had said what she said, and how she was embarrassed about the age difference. No one was very happy, but they reached a tentative truce on the matter.

Their relationship continued to blossom, but the world seemed to shrink away from them.

As Simone began spending more and more time with Alex, friends began to disappear from her side, friends who tired of the fact that she was never around to hang out anymore. Then there were their parents. Although there was never any explicit language forbidding them from seeing each other, there was certainly no encouragement either, and a shroud of disapproval lingered in the air like overcast skies.

Simone started missing more and more school, and her parents began to believe that Alex was acting as a bad influence on their daughter. In truth, Alex had nothing to do with it. Simone was anxious about her school subjects, especially Biology, and even thinking about it was enough to give her a panic attack. She chose to avoid classes as a solution, but her parents were not privy to this until much later and attached the blame to her new boyfriend, assuming they were off gallivanting instead of pursuing their proper studies. Alex’s mother also continued to be lukewarm towards her. There was cordiality on both sides, but nothing more. To Simone and Alex, it increasingly felt as though it were the two of them against the world. But this didn’t dampen their spirits.

A few months into their relationship, they began writing letters to each other. Although Simone had a mobile phone, this was before Alex owned one, and so handwritten letters were what conveyed their messages. They’d hand it over to one another when they saw each other in the day time, then read it at home in the evenings and write a response to be hand delivered the next day. “Hey, it’s 1am,” the letter might say. “I can’t sleep and am thinking of you.” Many years later, Alex would compile these letters into a book and present it to Simone as a wedding present.

“You’re the only one worthy of making me the luckiest guy alive,” wrote Alex on November 23, 2006. “When we stand in a church one day, I would love it if you’d say yes to marry me. I thank you for always being here for me whenever I need you.”

“I’m better than Rolex,” he added.

Soon, 2006 neared an end. Simone planned to go see a New Year’s concert with her favorite band, Die Ärzte, but the problem was, she only had one ticket and wanted Alex to go as well. It would be their first New Year’s Eve together, and she wanted a kiss at the chime of the clock. Her Dad got on eBay and managed to find another ticket. She went with him to go pick it up, her heart beating fast the entire time. In the book of letters, there is one that corresponds to this event. “We got the ticket for you,” wrote Simone, her simple words barely concealing her excitement.

Alex never liked the band, as it turned out, but he went because Simone wanted to go. They stood close to the stage and basked in the euphoria of the moment, the music heightening their adrenaline and sweeping them away into revelry. The clock struck twelve, and Simone got her wish.

A new year dawned, and Simone turned eighteen. Her parents conveyed to her that since she was an adult now, they weren’t going to restrict her actions anymore. Trusting that she would be responsible for herself, they told her she could do as she pleased. That included staying overnight at Alex’s place. Alex’s parents, however, were not so accommodating. Their son, after all, was still only fifteen.

“Simone, it’s time for you to go,” Alex’s mother would come into the room to say whenever Simone stayed over too late.

They came up with a strategy to deal with this. Whenever his mom came around to send her off, Simone would oblige, gathering her things and leaving his apartment. Then she’d wait outside in the stairwell. Once his mom was out of sight, he’d sneak her back in. They rearranged the furniture in his room so that she had three hiding spots: under the bed, behind the closet, or, most frequently, behind the curtains. Luckily, before his mom came into the room, she’d always first yell, “Alex, are you still awake?” That was Simone’s cue to go into hiding. And it worked each time.

A piece of the curtain made its way into the book of letters as well, as a memorabilia of mischievous times. Years later, when asked by Simone—by then a beloved member of the family—if she knew she was still in the room, Alex’s mother would stare in disbelief. “Where?” she demanded.

Simone didn’t stay over every night, but by then, Alex already got his first mobile phone. Letters gave way to texts. They racked up an enormous phone bill, which enraged their parents. When texting or calling proved unsustainable, Alex cooked up a new solution: video games. They played Counter-Strike because there was a Skype function embedded in it. The game was rated R, but the cashier, of course, didn’t ask Alex for his ID when he went to buy it for Simone.

The summer of 2007, ten months into their relationship, things took a promising turn. Simone’s parents had an apartment in France and invited Alex and Simone over for vacation, saying they could camp there if they wanted. That was to be their first vacation together.

They flew to France and stayed in a tent together on a camping site about half a kilometer away from Simone’s parents’ place. There was no running water, and they had to walk to the apartment to use the bathroom. But they did have a new mattress, which was nice, and the beach was just around the corner. However, In the midst of their excitement and a mere two days into their vacation, Alex abruptly fell sick and landed a fever. Simone felt her spirits plummet, and anger gushed out. The trip had promised so much for them.

“You’re ruining the holiday!” she shouted, which she knew was not fair even as she said it.

That ended up being one of their first big fights. Luckily, to both their relief, the fever cleared, and he was up and well again soon enough.

They found a small beach nearby and spent their time there. It was Alex’s first time to swim in the sea, which made it all the more exciting. They were teenagers at the time and didn’t have much money, so meals consisted mostly of burgers, but a special kind with steak, sauce, and fries. They even chanced upon a French national holiday during their stay and went to a nice restaurant with Simone’s parents and brother. Fireworks went off and a lovely evening began to unfold, but then, as Simone recalls, the waiters ignored them because they were German and only served them their drinks and not their food. Alex was furious, but it was nonetheless an experience that folded him a little deeper into the family. They drove back home together with Simone’s parents at the end of the trip.

Summer yielded to fall, then winter. That December, Simone and Alex went to a Christmas market.

“Choose something,” said Alex to Simone. “I’ll buy it for you as a Christmas present.”

Simone chose a silver colored ring that was decorated with a pretty row of blue and white stones. Alex bought it.

“I know I’m going to marry you one day,” he said to Simone with the ring in hand.

She smiled, reminding him of his age.

“I know I’m only fifteen, but I know I’m going to marry you.”

And then he got down on his knees.

“Do you want to marry me?” he asked.

Simone smiled.

“Yes, of course,” she replied.

She put the on the ring, which, thereafter, she would wear everyday. It was a cheap ring, but to the pair of them, it was precious. As far as they were concerned, they were engaged.

“But don’t tell anyone,” said Alex.

People saw the ring on her and asked about it.

“My boyfriend gave it to me,” Simone replied truthfully each time.

“Are you engaged?” they asked, mystified.

“No,” replied Simone.

In the spring of 2015, Simone turned 26. For her birthday, Alex surprised her with a trip to London, which was Simone’s favorite city in the world. They stayed at an Airbnb in Notting Hill amidst rows of pretty, colorful houses, and spent their time roaming the city. Everything Simone wanted to do, they did. Her suspicions began to bubble. They had talked about getting married, and Simone suspected that a certain question—a formal, proper one—was in the brewing.

One day, Alex told Simone he was taking her to see a musical, Billy Elliot. On their way to pick up the tickets, Alex began behaving strangely. He wasn’t talking and was walking faster and faster, looking as if he was immersed in his own thoughts. And then he started sweating. Simone knew the moment was probably coming. But then they got the tickets and nothing happened. That evening, they went to dinner. Simone felt the tension around Alex, more palpable than ever. This is it, she thought. The meal passed without anything coming to pass.

Soon, they were at the theatre, seated for the show. Simone waited, but the show began without event. There was a break halfway through, and they went to the bar, where they ordered champagne. Nothing happened as they finished their drinks, and they returned to their seats for the second half of the show. Then it was over, and they were walking outside. Alex—Simone noticed with keen eyes—was still tense with nerves as they ambled down to the Thames. They arrived at Parliament Street, which was dotted with red telephone booths. It was midnight, and Simone deflated a little as she realized it just wasn’t going to happen this day, however strangely Alex was behaving. But the night felt nice, and it wasn’t raining in London, which was something.

“Let’s take some photos,” Simone said, since they were dressed nicely for the theatre.

Alex instructed Simone to go into one of the booths so that he could take one of her alone. She went in and the photo was taken. But then he wouldn’t let her out, and that was annoying. She was starting to get angry when Alex went down on one knee.

He had waited and waited because he didn’t know when would be the perfect moment, and he also hadn’t wanted the night to end.

“Do you remember the first time I proposed?” he asked.

“Yes, of course,” replied Simone.

“I want to propose again seriously,” he said. “Do you want to marry me?”

“Of course,” she answered, feeling her heart swell.

The ring turned out to be much too large, but there was something else about it, Simone noticed. It looked very familiar. And then she recalled visiting a jewelry store with her mother a while ago. Her mother had asked her offhandedly which ring she would like if Alex ever proposed. Simone realized now that she had in fact picked her own engagement ring. This one, though, was engraved. Doppelt hält besser, it said on the inside of the ring. Two is better than one.

“Can we go get a drink now?” asked Alex as he slumped into himself with relief.

It was 1am. They walked to Westminster Bridge and bought whiskey from a nearby corner shop, then took a seat by the bridge with a view of the Big Ben. All of a sudden, the hands on the large clock began to spin. Daylight Savings had begun, and the Keepers of the Clock were working on resetting the time. Alex and Simone watched, transfixed in the remarkable nature of the instant, as time appeared to fly free of its constraints, enshrouding them in what felt like an unlikely moment in limbo. Their thoughts leapt free of their organized confinement as well, leaping backwards in time with the disorienting spin of the hands, back to a scene from minutes ago in a telephone booth, back to a Christmas market, a tent in France, a New Year’s concert, and then finally back to a football field on a hot summer day.

Like a prolonged wink, the moving clock hands abruptly fell still again as if nothing had happened, except now, a new hour had struck.