"Love is brightest in the dark." -The Cave Of Two Lovers ,Book 2, Chapter 2, Avatar: The Last Airbender
"There's one more stop," he said as he led her down a street, holding her hand, gently brushing his thumb against it. At the corner he pointed towards a large two-storey home, almost devoid of visitors. The only light was provided by a dozen candles lining the veranda. Near the front door an elderly woman sat in a rocking chair. They seated themselves on the veranda swing as the woman studied them.
"Hello, Aunt Wu," he said slowly. "How are you tonight?"
"Same as usual," Aunt Wu answered. Her voice was raspy, like that of a lifetime smoker. "You know how it goes." She squinted at them, as if trying to make them out from a distance. "So you've come to hear the story of the candles in the window?"
"I thought she should hear it," he answered solemnly.
For a moment Aunt Wu's eyes seemed to twinkle. He slipped his arm over his date's shoulder, pulling her close. She felt herself relax beneath his touch.
When Aunt Wu spoke, her voice was a whisper. "Many decades ago, the son of the owners of a small candlemaking shop in this town fell in love with the innkeeper's daughter. When the town fell to enemy forces, both families were among those who stayed in town. Despite the war and the occupation, the two young people began meeting by the river yonder on early evenings, just to talk, and eventually the girl's parents found out. They were angry and forbade their daughter to see her lover any more, since he and his family were regarded as poor, but in time the young couple devised a plan. He would stand in his parents' candle shop down the street watching for the signal. If her parents were asleep, she would put a lighted candle on the sill, and he would sneak over. He would climb the massive oak tree right outside her window and help her down. In this way they met as often as they could, and as the months passed, they fell deeper and deeper in love."
Aunt Wu narrowed her eyes slightly. Her voice took on a more ominous tone. "By now a curfew had been instituted, and any young men caught outside in the evening were likely to be put to death. Unable now to meet his sweetheart, the young man contrived to work late in his parents' shop, lighting his own candle in the store window so she would know that he was longing to see her. One day he smuggled a note to her, through a sympathetic priest, asking her to elope with him. He her answer was yes, she was supposed to light two candles in the window. That night the two candles were lit, and they were married under a full moon by the same priest who delivered the note.
"Unfortunately, the girl's parents discovered their daughter's secret marriage. A few days later the innkeeper contacted an enemy colonel and told him there was a spy in their midst. The young man was arrested in his parents' shop. Before he was taken out to be hanged, he asked for one favour—that a candle be lighted in the window of his shop—and it was granted. That night, from the limbs of the giant oak tree in front of his sweetheart's window, the young man was hanged. The girl was heartbroken, and she knew her father had been responsible."
"She went to see her lover's parents and asked them for the candle that had been burning in the window the night that her lover died. They gave it to her, and that night she lit both candles and set them on the windowsill. Her parents found her the next day. She'd hanged herself from the same giant oak tree in front of her window."
At this point, the young man pulled his date a little closer to him. "How do you like it so far?" he whispered.
"Shh," she answered. "I think we're getting to the ghost part."
"Those candles burned all night and the following day, until they were no more than little knobs of wax. But still they burned for three days—as long as the couple had been married—and then they went out." Aunt Wu leaned forward, mischief in her eyes. "Every now and then, people would swear that they could see two candles burning in the windows of some abandoned houses down here. Even now people still claim to see them. But the only people who will see them are young couples in love. Whether or not you two will see them depends on your feelings for each other."
Aunt Wu closed her eyes, as if telling the story had rained her. For a minute she didn't move, and her audience sat frozen in place, afraid to break the spell. When she finally opened her eyes, they said goodbye, and descended the veranda steps and returned to the gravel path.
Three years later…
She was now walking along the same street, heading back to her apartment after visiting friends. She hadn't seen him for almost three years—that Halloween was the last one they spent together. As it turned out, he had to leave for college a few weeks later. They had kept in touch for the first few months, but after that she had no news of him. Apparently long-distance relationships didn't work out for long, as anyone would know.
She remembered how he had taken her hand again as they approached the street. Neither had said anything for a long while. They rounded the corner and ahead was the river between the housing estates.
"So… I'll see you next Friday?"
"In a minute," he said, slowing down before finally stopping. He took a step towards her, pulling her gently towards him. She followed his lead, closing her eyes, and when their faces drew near, it was as if nothing else mattered in the world. The kiss went on and on, and when they pulled apart he embraced her, burying his face in her neck, then kissing the hollow of her shoulder. She leaned into him, savouring the safe harbour of his arms as the rest of the world went on around them.
She had thought they would be together forever. But it wasn't so.
After some time, she had finally, reluctantly, come to grips with the fact that it was over. She hadn't heard from him, nor did she expect to. But as she glanced up towards her apartment, her breath stopped in her throat and she froze. She couldn't believe what she saw. She closed her eyes, then opened them slowly, hoping and praying it was true.
It was.
Like tiny stars, two candles were flickering in her windows.
And he was waiting for her inside.
Just because I made this Kataang, doesn't mean you can't imagine it as your favourite pairing. I kind of made it neutral, so as long as it's not a slash pairing it should fit well. I just chose Kataang because in my opinion it suits the story best and it's one of my favourites.
The legend of the candlemaker's son and the innkeeper's daughter comes from 'A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks, one of my favourite 'adult' books. I do not own it, and God knows whether it actually happened, but it just might be real history.