A story for the ages...

Well kids today I have a story for you. It is a grand story involving buffalo, Soul mates of the purest kind, , two grand journeys which seem to keep intertwining for eternity and a man who was made to wear mittens on his feet.

As all great stories seem to start in the same manner this story shall also begin as such, for it is one that mothers will be telling their children for all the years to come.

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy. They had for a long time been living in the same small village however, they were completely unaware of each other. For these two though it seemed that fate and a cold snowy night had something more planed for this pair. It was the middle of a long cold and snowy winter when Marcus wandered into Amanda's life and they began what would be a lifetime adventure with each other.

Amanda had been hard at work as she usually was. When the doors burst open followed by a chill wind and a nice looking young man. The building in which Amanda worked in was large and there were frequently people coming and going. It seemed to be the center point of their small village and as such it held many amenities that the local houses could not provide, it also was well suited as a meeting point for the great many people. As it this was true Amanda did not usually take any great notice of those who came and went unless they came to her for her services. This time however, she seemed drawn to the lad who entered. She found herself staring at him as she attempted to guess his story but was quickly embarrassed when she realized she was staring and busied herself with work.

She quietly excused herself to complete the tasks that were waiting out in the cold night. She worked quickly because it was very cold out and she wished to be back in the warmth provided by the main building. While she was completing her tasks she found herself thinking about the young man. Amanda had gotten the impression that he was much more than he looked when she first saw him come through the cold night and the buildings doors and she quite enjoyed making up stories that could be about his life.

When she had completed the work that required her to be out in the cold weather she hurried back to her post inside. When she returned she found that the man she had been creating stories about was there in her work space talking to one of the other young ladies she worked with. It seemed that her friend Sharon lived in the same district as the young lad and they had become friends. Amanda at first was fairly shy not trying to pry to much into the young mans life and not wishing to ruin her own made up stories, however, quickly he pulled her into a grand conversation lasting many hours.

Amanda could not remember having such a great conversation with anyone before and she was truly sad when the young man she now knew as Marcus announced that it was time that he returned to his home. Amanda feared that this chance meeting would be the last they would ever have and was already pining for his company. She was so absorbed in this feeling of loss that she almost didn't notice his feet. This would have been tragic because it is perhaps his lack of proper shoes that truly brought these two people together. It seemed that the young Marcus was wearing shoes that would only be suitable for a warm summer walk, and not indeed for this strong winter weather.

Quickly Amanda could picture the young lad walking home and becoming ill. She could not stand for this to happen and she knew she needed to come up with some sort of solution to save him from a certain illness. She started to argue with him about the status of his shoes. He assured her that he did not live far away and would be fine, however, the though of him walking in the snow nearly brought her to tears. Finally he conceded to wait for 10 minutes while she attempted to think of a solution however, after that time he would be leaving with or without her blessings.

Amanda had a habit of staring off as she was thinking and this time that habit paid off. As she was thinking she was starting at the bin where they kept things that their patrons had forgotten and would hopefully return for. In that bin Amanda spotted a pair of large red mittens. That was just what she needed. The shoes he was wearing had a strap that separated the large toe from all the others so a mitten was just the right shape. When she returned to him with the mittens it took a bit of arguing before he finally gave up and put them on his feet. She had to admit that he looked quite silly with mittens on his feet. However, she could bare the though of him walking in the snow now for his feet would stay cozy and warm inside of the red woolen mittens.

It was several days later when the two ran into each other again. It seemed that the determination that Amanda had about her had intrigued Marcus and he wished to get to know her better as well. The two began to spend more and more of their free time in each others company until it seemed to all those around that they had for all of time been friends and would forever remain friends.

Amanda and Marcus quickly realized that they had something more than mere friendship. There was something more deeply rooted in them than just that. One night Marcus had a vivid dream which turned into a vision. In the beginning of time man and woman were one, however, in a battle of the gods they were split apart and forced to always be looking for their other half. For those who happened to be luckily enough to find their other half they could rarely completely rejoin for the gods that separated them placed a curse on them and if they couldn't find their task and complete it they would never again know the joy of being whole. It is said when you find your soul mate you will finally have the truest friend there is, many people get confused and think that being soul mates is about love but Marcus knew better thanks to his vision.

The next day Marcus told Amanda about his vision and how he felt that they were perhaps soul mates. Amanda agreed with him. She confessed that she had never felt so safe, and happy as she did when she was with him. They quickly decided they must discover what their quest was so that they could remain joined for all eternity sharing in each others joys and easing each others suffering. They consulted a great many wise men in attempts to learn what they must do however, they always returned empty handed. One night after another fruitless attempt however, Marcus received another vision. It seemed that the gods favored him and wished for him to have his other half back again. In this vision, he could see Amanda riding atop a noble steed among the mighty buffalo.

When Amanda heard this she was at first frightened. She could not afford a horse and the buffalo had all migrated years ago further west of their village, to far for a poor girl like herself to make a journey to. However, Amanda vowed that that moment that she would do whatever it took for she wished to be whole once again like in the ancient days and she dared not risk losing Marcus and the only way to ensure they would remain forever was to be joined. Amanda took on this quest.

After much searching and a long Journey Amanda came across a young buffalo who seemed to be lost. The poor soul was sick and she was not sure if he would survive. She took him in and cared for him and was able to return him to health. During the time that she was caring for him Marcus was journeying to his home village to visit his family for the festivals. She eagerly awaited his return so that she could share with him her buffalo so that they could be complete again.

When Marcus returned and found the buffalo nothing great changed. Amanda was depressed for she felt she had failed. She left on a journey to try to figure out where she went wrong. While she was gone Marcus cared for the young buffalo for it was not yet at full strength. While he was caring for the young beast he decided that it needed a name for he was tired of calling it buffalo. He decided to call the young beast Wyatt. At the moment that he first uttered the words Amanda felt something deep inside of her warm a bit, Marcus felt it as well.

Amanda was overjoyed for she knew that this somehow meant that she was once again whole that she had found and been bound to her soul mate. Their story continues until time itself runs out. Both go on grand adventures that keep them far from each other and close off all means of communication between the two however, they are alright because through it all they can feel their bit of warmth ever glowing within them. They know that no matter how long the other is gone or how far away they go they can always call them back and they will return for they are truly bound as one soul in two bodies forever blessed by the gods.

I hope you enjoyed your story. I still feel bad about the miss communication. I miss you a lot and I really do wish you had more time to drop me a hello from time to time but I am not angry when you cannot for I know that when I need you most you will find a way to be there for me, as I will always be here for you.