1. Love Again
By Anthony Barbaria
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Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2013 Anthony Barbaria
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold
or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person,
please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did
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of the author.
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LOVE AGAIN
CHAPTER 1
“It is such a beautiful day Charlie. Don’t you think?”
Lisa and Charlie are taking one of their first strolls together. They are two Young adults
discovering the world of courting together. In their early twenties in the nineteen fifties; they
stroll along the suburban neighborhood among the family homes and gardens that line the streets.
“Yes Lisa, it is wonderful out today, a perfect spring afternoon. You know, I thought it would be
quite chilly but it isn’t. Maybe it’s your radiance that is making it so warm.”
Lisa’s light blue sundress and sandals are the perfect outfit for the day. Charlie is dressed to suit
with a red short sleeved button up shirt and brown trousers on. They look great together.
“Oh Charlie, you sure do know how to make a girl blush,” as she slides her hand through her
long blond hair and puts it into a pony tail.

2. They recently met at college a few weeks ago and have been chatting between classes, but this is
their first long walk together. It turns out that they have a certain chemistry that helped them
form an instant bond when they first met in the cafeteria on campus.
He tripped on the carpet near the table where she was sitting and fell right into the seat next to
her. It was like a slapstick scene from a romantic film. He flipped his head and swept his hand
across the side of his hair like he was trying to be suave and made a serious gaze into her
beautiful blue eyes, but he could not hold his composition for more than a second before he let
out a funny smirk and put his hand on his forehead with embarrassment. They both had a good
laugh about it and that was it, instant bonding. These two seem destined to be together. Now here
they are, out on a stroll.
“Oh Lisa, your blushing only accentuates your beautiful face. Your rosy cheeks make my heart
bloom, ” Charlie tries to be over affectionate in his adoration for her.
Lisa chuckles, “You’re such a sugary sap Charlie!”
Charlie takes her hand in his as they stroll down the street together. She is going to be a nurse
and he plans on becoming a doctor of medicine. They really are perfect for each other.
Their stroll takes them up to a house where a new resident has recently moved in earlier in the
year. Lisa has struck up a friendship with the elderly woman who is now in the yard pruning
roses. Lisa waves to the woman and kindly greets her.
“Good afternoon Mrs. Rosenthal. My, what lovely roses you have.”
Mrs. Rosenthal smiles kindly, “Yes, but all of this pruning can be such wear on the hands.
Would you like to help me in the garden today?”
“Why yes, I would,” Lisa is excited.
“Then why don’t you two come in for a cup of tea and then I can show you how to make a blue
ribbon arrangement,” The woman kindly asks.
“Oh Charlie,” Lisa ask, “Can we visit with her for a minute? This is the first time she has invited
me in to her home.”
Charlie hesitates for a second, because he has some other duties to attend to after their walk. He
needs to go buy some supplies for his school courses before the shops close.
“Why don’t you visit with her while I go into town to buy my books? I’m sure you two will have
a fine time together. I’ll come back here to walk you home in a little while. Is it a deal?”
“It’s a Deal,” Lisa smile and agrees.

3. Charlie gently takes Lisa’s hand and softly kisses the top of it and then kindly nods to Mrs.
Rosenthal.
“Ladies, I will see you both later,” he responds in such a gentlemanly manner.
Charlie heads on his way and Mrs. Rosenthal opens up the gate to let Lisa into the yard.
Chapter 2
“Oh dear, he is such a fine man. You are very lucky to have found him.”
“Yes,” Said Lisa, “We have only known each other for a little while now, but I am sure he is
going to be my one.”
The elderly woman leads Lisa up the stone garden path and up the two stone steps that lead to
the front door of the lovely yellow Victorian era home. It sticks out among the rest of the more
modern homes, but has a nice air of coziness about it. As she walks into the front door, Lisa is in
a sense of awe. It seems so different on the inside, but at the same time, quaint, like it is an
antique before it’s time. The feel of walking into an elder’s home is usually more on the side of
very old turn of the century furniture and duvets, but the furniture in this house looks like it was
made yesterday, but has been lived in for a lifetime. Some of it appears to be styles that Lisa has
never seen before.
“I already have a kettle on in the kitchen. Why don’t you sit down in the front den and make
yourself comfortable, “says Mrs. Rosenthal as she leads Lisa to the front room and shows her to
a shiny chair set around a sleek wooden coffee table with metal legs.
Lisa is intrigued, “What hmm… nice furniture you have. I did not take you as a modernist.”
“Oh, I prefer the old fashioned my dear. It was always my husband who was the modernist. He
was always one to keep up with the times,” Mrs. Rosenthal talks from the Kitchen.
Lisa inquires, “Oh, where is he now? I would like to meet him.”
Lisa observes more of the room as her hostess returns with a tea tray.
“Here you go, with two lumps of sugar,” Mrs. Rosenthal hands Lisa the freshly prepared cup of
tea.
“Yes, two lumps… How did you know,” Lisa is a little perplexed.
“Oh, we always loved two lumps dear, “the elderly woman replied.
There are a few framed photographs on the walls. One looks like it is even in color. It is a
photograph of an older, almost familiar, gentleman in a military uniform.
Lisa inquires, “Is that a photograph of him on the wall?”

4. “Oh yes dear,” She pauses for a second as if a cherished memory had just popped into her mind
and then she says in a very soft voice,” He is quite handsome in that one. I couldn’t resist a man
in uniform.”
The somber tone in the woman’s voice makes Lisa realize that he must have passed away. She is
now slightly perplexed as to how he could have such modern taste for someone who is now
gone.
Lisa’s curiosity kicks in, “I do not want to be sound rude in your own home, but may I ask how
long has he been gone?”
The widow picks up another portrait off of a table under a large, black, shiny sculpture on the
wall and holds it in her hand, “Let me see. It has been quite a while now. It was during the war.
His triage unit was ambushed by guerrilla soldiers”
She gently caresses the frame of the photograph and stares at it with such love in her eyes. She
almost forgets that Lisa is in the room.
Lisa can see that she misses him very much, but wonders about the state of her mind, “Are you
well? I mean, living all alone here must be trying at times.”
The woman stands the photo on the table in front of her, so she can both enjoy her tea and
admire her late love simultaneously. She looks back up at Lisa and smiles.
Mrs. Rosenthal responds, “I manage, but I do get so lonely from time to time. It is good to have
people like you to visit me. I always enjoy it when you walk by the house and visit me in the
garden. It is only natural that we will be good friends. You remind me of what it is to be young
again, you and that young man of yours. What’s his name?”
Lisa replies to her host, “Charlie, ma’am.”
“He and you make a beautiful pairing,” the woman exclaims, “Oh, but you know that. Don’t you.
You are not much different from C.J. and me.”
Lisa is still a little taken back by the color photo on the wall. She had never seen any military or
many other photos in color before. Her father served in the recent war, but all of his service
photos are in black and white.
“I’ve never seen one in color before,” Lisa asks inquisitively.
Mrs. Rosenthal does not understand what Lisa is talking about, “One what? What have you never
seen before my dear?”
Lisa responds, “The photo of your husband, it must have been special to have one taken in color
like that. I did not know that it was even available during the war.”

5. “That was pretty standard. Most soldiers had their photos taken in the army. I think it was
mandatory,” The elderly woman does not seem to understand what is odd in the situation.
Lisa sips the last of her tea and decides to change the subject, “So, what about those roses?
Would you like to show me how to prune proper award winning flowers?”
Mrs. Rosenthal, who seems to have never even touched her tea, smiles. She hands Lisa a pair of
worn out pruning shears that had been sitting on the coffee table. Lisa barely taps her finger on
the sharp edge of the shears, but manages to accidentally prick her finger.
Lisa makes a sound of alarmed pain.
Mrs. Rosenthal finds some humor in this, “Those are for the roses, not you. Here, take this.”
Mrs. Rosenthal hands her a cloth napkin to put on her finger in case it is bleeding.
Only a little bit of blood squeezed out from the prick and she wiped it in the cloth and handed it
back to her host who takes it along with the tea tray as she stands up.
“Why don’t you go out to the garden and I will meet you there as soon as I take care of these
dirty cups.”
Lisa gets up out of her chair to head out to the garden. She does not shy away from the shears.
She is bold and picks them up to take to the garden with her.
As she heads out the front door, she notices an old small black and white photo of another man
who looks so familiar, but before she can get a good look at it, Mrs. Rosenthal comes from the
other room and hurries her through the door into the front garden and up to a rose bush filled
with brilliant red roses. She hands her a pair of pruning glove and Lisa is quick to put them on.
“How lovely are these…? Ouch,” Lisa Pricks herself again, but on what?
She Takes the glove off of her hand and turns it inside out. There is a rose thorn poking through
the glove. This time it hurts so much more than the shears. It is almost as if the thorn had torn
through her skin like paper. She is holding her hand in pain as she turns to ask Mrs. Rosenthal
for help, but the woman is suddenly gone.
At this moment she hears Charlie’s voice calling out to her from up the street. He must have
returned from buying his supplies for school.
He is calling for her, “Lisa, I’ve returned from my adventure! I’ve come to rescue the lovely
maiden!”
She is glad to hear his voice approaching the yard.

6. She starts to walk towards the gate, but her knees suddenly ache so bad that it is hard for her to
move quickly enough to greet him.
“Oh my knees. What is wrong with them?” Lisa thinks to herself.
Charlie is approaching the gate now and Lisa cannot walk, but is anxious to see him.
“Oh my dear Lisa, You are as beautiful a vision as I have ever seen. You make the sunset shy in
comparison,” His compliments flow from his mouth like water from a spout.
Lisa smiles at how much he adores her. She tries to call out to him, but her voice has also gone
suddenly wrong. She coughs instead.
As if her sudden poor condition is not surprise enough, Lisa hears the door of the house swing
open and before she could even turn to see who it is, she hears a voice that should not be.
“Oh my dear, you have returned!”
Lisa’s heart jumps a beat. It can’t be.
Her stomach falls to the floor as a young and energetic woman’s voice comes through the air
with perfect clarity.
“I’ll be right there!”
The young girl whisk past Lisa and up to the gate, opens it, and turns to Lisa, sending chills
down her spine.
As she stares into her own eyes, the young girl smiles softly at Lisa and greets her farewell.
“Goodbye Mrs. Rosenthal. I had a wonderful time with you today.”
Lisa drops to the ground and as time seems to fade away, she hears herself in the distance.
“I love you Charlie Jackson. Promise that you will never leave me again.”
THE END
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About The Author
Anthony Barbaria is an Artist, Musician and novice writer from San Jose, California. His foray
into writing has emerged from a strong drive to create imaginative and odd tales ranging from
the metaphysical to the deviant sides of life. He is not afraid of the dark and has seen enough real
life intensity to drive a pen to paper, or a finger to keys. Be it in his life, or the lives of those
around him. Life persists. Look for many short stories, poetry and novels to come.

7. She starts to walk towards the gate, but her knees suddenly ache so bad that it is hard for her to
move quickly enough to greet him.
“Oh my knees. What is wrong with them?” Lisa thinks to herself.
Charlie is approaching the gate now and Lisa cannot walk, but is anxious to see him.
“Oh my dear Lisa, You are as beautiful a vision as I have ever seen. You make the sunset shy in
comparison,” His compliments flow from his mouth like water from a spout.
Lisa smiles at how much he adores her. She tries to call out to him, but her voice has also gone
suddenly wrong. She coughs instead.
As if her sudden poor condition is not surprise enough, Lisa hears the door of the house swing
open and before she could even turn to see who it is, she hears a voice that should not be.
“Oh my dear, you have returned!”
Lisa’s heart jumps a beat. It can’t be.
Her stomach falls to the floor as a young and energetic woman’s voice comes through the air
with perfect clarity.
“I’ll be right there!”
The young girl whisk past Lisa and up to the gate, opens it, and turns to Lisa, sending chills
down her spine.
As she stares into her own eyes, the young girl smiles softly at Lisa and greets her farewell.
“Goodbye Mrs. Rosenthal. I had a wonderful time with you today.”
Lisa drops to the ground and as time seems to fade away, she hears herself in the distance.
“I love you Charlie Jackson. Promise that you will never leave me again.”
THE END
***
About The Author
Anthony Barbaria is an Artist, Musician and novice writer from San Jose, California. His foray
into writing has emerged from a strong drive to create imaginative and odd tales ranging from
the metaphysical to the deviant sides of life. He is not afraid of the dark and has seen enough real
life intensity to drive a pen to paper, or a finger to keys. Be it in his life, or the lives of those
around him. Life persists. Look for many short stories, poetry and novels to come.