Of Love and Other Things

It was love at first sight. When our eyes met, we knew - well, I knew - that we were destined for one another. She was beautiful - her eyes sparkled with a thousand dots of light. Her voice was as a chorus of angels; her wit was greater even than my own. (And in that day, my wit was nothing to be mocked.) I knew she must be mine.

Our courtship was long and difficult. When I first made approaches to her, she declined them, to my crushing disappointment. As I continued the chase, hoping to woo her more subtly, the third Gulf War was interrupted by the Pacific Conflict. Both of us were drafted; I was sent to Okinawa, while she went to Kurdistan. We could communicate only rarely, and that with military-issue webcams. But we were both young, still only 25, and the tensions and fear of combat deepened our relationship. When we returned home at last, two years later, we began dating regularly.

She was a clever woman, pretty, attractive - and she knew it. I knew she liked me - but she made it clear that I would have to earn her heart. I was not her only suitor. I knew I had not been her first love, and - if I did not act well and swiftly - I would not be her last. Just before the first nanotech boom, I took a gamble - investing heavily in a little company called nGenius. When the boom came, I won billions - and her hand in marriage. (Not that she needed the money - heck, she had more than I did!)

We've lived many years happily together - only two divorces so far, far below the average. We've created a legacy that I think anyone could be proud of - especially after the Decline. I die satisfied in myself - and in my love.

DISCLAIMER: David, the first person here does not refer to my own actions! Dang it. This is a work of fiction; all resemblance to real persons is accidental.