Roger had silky, long and wavy dark hair. When I first glanced deep into his green eyes, I felt the whole world around us disappear for a brief moment.
I had momentarily glimpsed at him on my train from Victoria Station, London, going to Dover. I was catching the ferry to Belgium where I was taking an overnight train to Lausanne, Switzerland.
We sat on opposite sides of the train carriage and as I glanced at him from the glass window, we caught each other’s eyes as he was also looking at me through his nearby window. Suddenly, however, in conversation with a couple of other passengers, he left the train in a hurry and with a sigh, I went back to the pages of La Peste.
I left London en route to the second leg of my self-funded sabbatical. I took a gap year from my Degree in Foreign Languages combined with Translations & Interpreting at a University in São Paulo in order to that travel and expand my horizons.
Little did I know my travels would change my whole life.
Ostend train station has a huge coffee shop so before I was due to check in and embark on my 14 hours journey to Lausanne, I decided to grab a drink and something to eat. As I walked into the busy, crowded and noisy coffee shop I felt my heart pounding as my eyes could see nothing but the long-haired, charming man I had briefly glanced at on the train at Victoria Station. ‘You are the lady from the train’ he said with a distinctive accent I wasn’t familiar with. Roger approached me as I rushed to find a table and a chair to sit down before my knees gave in and I embarrassed myself.
‘Small world!’ I somehow muttered as I was still stunned by the fact that, there he was again. ‘Do you mind if I sit with you and get you a drink? I am really glad that the world is small enough so that I can get to be in it with you! What are the odds? Just a few hours ago we were in England but here we are, in Belgium. I am here on business and then I’m off to France. Where are you heading?’
God must have done a trick or two to create this encounter! I mean, really? What are the odds indeed??! I didn’t know then what I have come to know and innerstand now about Soul Contracts but I still felt, at the time, that it wasn’t just a ‘coincidence.’ I do believe Roger and I were destined to meet and that encounter at Ostend train station changed the whole course of my life! Yes, of course, I could have chosen to proceed with the life plans I have already made. My dream was to run a language school in Brazil and my self-funded travels were giving me real-life experiences I could draw upon when teaching my students.
However, I didn’t. Can you guess why? Well, let me tell you all about it. After having a coffee and exchanging our telephone numbers, Roger and I kept in touch for three months before we met in person again. I had been living in Lausanne, a French-speaking hilly city situated on the shores of Geneva Lake. Roger and I started exchanging letters, the old-fashioned way. Remember those? I loved getting his letters very much. Roger was a very well-travelled man who spoke six languages. A polyglot!
Roger was 10 years older than me and I was beside besotted with him through his writing alone but to exchange romantic letters with a gorgeous-looking charming gentleman like him, was very flattering. I had no idea where it was all going, but I knew it was going somewhere.
I was due to travel to the South of France and then to Italy where I would be returning to São Paulo, to finish my Languages Degree and open my Language School in just about a week when Roger announced, during a phone call, that he was coming to see me in Lausanne as he simply could not let me go back to Brazil without seeing me again.
When the day finally arrived, Roger stepped out off the train onto Lausanne's platform holding a single red rose. I just stood there, frozen on the spot, as he walked towards me, elegantly dressed in a light blue suit. Then with a cheeky smile whilst offering me the flower, he tenderly pulled me close to him and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. We only had a week to spend together before I was due to leave. For good…
When the day came and it was my time for me to step into a train and leave Roger and my Swiss friend Ruth, I remember feeling very confused as well as emotional.
Emotions can either make us or break us but I wasn’t quite sure exactly what, I was feeling so I allowed the moment to lead the way. Suddenly, Roger softly guided me towards the end of the platform where it was quiet.
‘I know this is going to sound crazy but there is only one way to say this. Eliana, I cannot just let you go without making sure I will see you again. I know you have a ticket to go back to your homeland from Rome in about a month. I am going to ask you a question but I don’t expect you to give me an answer straight away. I would love it if you thought about it during your trips to France and Italy but hopefully, you will consider making some changes to your plans depending on your answer so here it goes: Eliana, will you marry me?’
Romance is an interesting phenomenon. The chemistry, the weird sensations, the heart palpitations, the queer feelings in your stomach. The kisses, the dancing, the Champagne, the chocolate, the lovemaking. But marriage? Wait, as a young person, I had made a decision I would not get into that trap. I had far more important things to do with my life. However, after travelling through France and Italy for a month, instead of going back to Brazil from Rome as planned. I decided to make a detour to Wales and see Roger one more time. Then in a very British hotel room in Newport, Gwent, where Roger was born, drinking Champagne and crying overcome with emotions I had never experienced, I said, “YES!” Yes, I’ll marry you Roger Keen, but you will have to come to Brazil, ask my parents and get married there surrounded by my family ad friends.
Two months later, on 16th September 1989, on Roger’s 37th birthday, in São Paulo, Brazil, I walked with my dad, dressed in a simple but joyous knee-high wedding dress with flowers on my curly hair, towards an improvised altar in the open air of a small ranch. I felt like a princess, ready to wed my ‘prince.’
The above is a snippet of chapter 2 of my forthcoming book Divine Soul, Sacred Body: From the brink of suicide to acknowledging my sovereignty. Please subscribe, leave a comment, like and share to be kept up to date and help me spread my message to inform and empower people that there is another side to this act that I will be addressing in my book. Deep gratitude. Eliana Keen
That’s so lovely You both look so happy beautiful picture X
Written so beautifully! I’m intrigued..