“Have you ever been to the planet they call Utopia?” Judith asked me wide eyed.
I smiled; I didn’t want to give her a straightforward answer. Not so long ago when she was a chubby little girl who was curious about everything she saw or heard, I wouldn’t have hesitated, it would have been as simple as talking to my three year old self.. Now however, a straight answer would only make her think her grandma was batshit crazy, and I wanted her to understand.
I looked away for a moment and thought about the question…
Have I ever been to the planet they call Utopia?
It was the same question John had asked me that fateful day all those years ago. I had been scared and excited at the prospect of what he meant at the time. Me, a twenty three year old daisy who men didn’t even bother to look at twice! I was in the middle of an errand, and he had approached me, right in front of the old general store, and he had poached the Utopia question to me. I had in my curious little way surprised myself by sitting down to listen to him.
Two months later, John and I had tied the knot. It was neither the most expensive nor the most glamorous event, but it had served its purpose; I was married, and I realized I he spoke the truth about Utopia…
Yeah, maybe a straightforward answer would do. Even to myself now I sounded batshit crazy…
I faced Judith again. She looked expectant for my answer...
“You see my dear, Utopia exists everywhere. It is a place yes, but it is not limited by space and time.”
Judith looked a bit perplexed. I continued…
“Many years ago I was a blossoming young woman, just like you. I had doubts about fantasies and impossible sounding places like Utopia too. But all that changed when I met your grandpa.”
The look Judith gave me made me think she was the one who was talking batshit crazy...
“Now dear, believe me when I say I’m quite serious. Nothing beats the love that one shares with a special person. It transcends all logic and makes us see the realities in the fantasies.”
Judith began to show a hint of understanding in her facial expression. So I tried to seize the moment…
“They say love has reasons that reason knows not, and today I believe. I told your mother the same thing years ago before she met your dad; that of course I have visited Utopia, it’s where I was then, where I am now, where I have been ever since, and I don’t ever intend leaving.”
Judith starts showing a trace of understanding in her eyes…
“When love finds you my dear, you will join us here. Then, you will know for yourself that your grandma was right…"
Judith smiles, her eyes glinted...
"I know grandma, I know now, and I think I'm already there with you."
She brings out a card to show me...
Tears began to form in my eyes as I looked closely at the card. I smiled inwardly, she knows i told myself, just like her mother knew...
If only my daughter, her mother was here, to share Utopia with us...
The tears poured...
THE END
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