Before you read any further, please let me clear up a few things. Firstly, this is NOT an opinion, as such. This is cautionary tale which I was party to. It ties in quite neatly with the "living abroad" theme. Secondly, I will not names name here as it doesn't matter who names they are, it's the story I want you to listen to. I would be very interested to hear peoples' views and similar tales.

About 2 years ago a friend of mine met this girl. He really liked her. She was pretty, smart and funny. She was the sister of a friend of his. He wasn't aware that she was his sister which is why is came as a shock to him! He never told her how he really felt about her because he didn't know how his mate would react (he awfully protective of his little sister!). She wanted to work with disabled children and become a strong, independent woman. She vowed never to rely on anyone for anything. So for 2 whole years, my friend didn't say a word. He kept it all bottled up. She had no idea how he felt. As time drew on, I encouraged him to meet other girls but he didn't want to know. He only had eyes for this particular one. That was pretty admirable.

Then, one day, my friend's world collapsed, never to be the same again. The girl he liked announced she was going to live for a while in America. She was going to stay with her other brother who worked out there. The look on my friends face was that of utter horror! I can honestly say, I have never seen him like that, truly! On the day she flew out, he refused to see her off. He felt kind of betrayed.

3 months passed and the girl came back to the UK. Naturally, he was over joyed and declared he would tell her how he felt. After all, 2 years IS a long time! My friend ran over to his friend's house to welcome her back...only to find another nasty surprise waiting for him. The girl came back all right.... but with a fiancé! I swear I heard his heart, not just break...but shatter. He was mortified. She was due to marry a boorish, arrogant american man (who funnily enough didn't like British people!). Every one took an instant liking to him, except my friend. He despised the very ground he walked on. The girl invited my friend to the wedding. He (with all the enthusiasm of a prison on death row) went.

The wedding was a 2-hour ceremony with the vicar droning on and aunts crying their eyes out. But the only thing I could hear was the sound of my friend gnashing his teeth! My heart stopped when the vicar asked, "if there was anyone who believed these 2 should be joined in holy matrimony. Speak no or forever hold their peace". I was waiting for my friend to jump and save this girl from this huge mistake (I really wanted my friend to get together with this girl). But I heard nothing. My friend didn't say a word. The couple got married and a month later flew back to america. Never to be seen again.

My friend gradually got over it, cursing his own stupidity. He eventually got his black belt in tae-kwon-do, which he was working for 5 years. He got a job in the city making a stack load of money. Life started to get a bit sweeter for him. The other month he told me he heard some news about the girl. Apparently, she never realized her dream of working with disabled children. Soon after they flew back to america, she fell pregnant. She since has been looking after her child while her husband worked. My friend told me "It's funny. After all that talk about how she'd never be dependent on anyone for anything. She flew 6,000 miles to the other side of the world to become the one thing she didn't want to be!"
I said, "At least, you've got your black belt and job!"
"Yeah! But I'd trade it all up to be with her..."

The lesson I learnt from this sad episode is, if you feel something for someone, don't waste time. Tell them how you feel. You may never get another chance.

Thank you reading this "non-opinion". I'd appreciate if you have any similar stories, you'd like you share...:-)