My high waist midi flapped in the wind as I walked by the side of the road. Loosly hung on my shoulders my worn out sweater was more to complete the attire than to keep me warm. I had worn a floral print blouse beneath my sweater and I wondered if I looked like a middle aged unmarried woman with no fashion sense. But hey, that's exactly who I was.

I could see the church from a distance. An ivory shaded small structure with a generous green front lawn, in the clearing amidst the tall trees. This was the only and the oldest church in our little town.

My grandparents, my parents, their friends and my friends got married here. Now their kids will also get married here. Notice how I said 'their kids'? Yeah, that's how sure I am of the future.

The church has been living on the donations from the people in this little town for decades. Rarely has anyone left the town. In fact, they have brought more people in. Take my siblings for example. All of them went to the city for their studies, found a partner and brought them back to settle in our town to increase our population and development.

The church supports marriages of all kind, though for not the reason you think. They support literally all causes, takes classes for depression and mental health, supports same sex marriage, sex before marriage and even has a meditation club. It sounds fantastic, I know.

But its a scam. Its a cult, I'm telling you. They are doing all of this to gain support and donations from current and future generations, not because they want to help the community. Biggest absurdity is that the church supports the church members following other faith as long as they remain members. One day the truth will come out but unfortunately, I will not be around to see it.

Suddenly the church door opened and a lot of people walked out.
Oh right! A sermon must have gotten over just now. I could easily identify a few familiar faces in the very small crowd.

There was Rebecca, Jerry, Mathew, Lara, David... Yup, the town was so small I could easily name everyone living in it. And then my eyes fell on him. Kevin.

Kevin with his lush brown hair, his muscular body, his hazel eyes. He was my first love. We were in high school together and he was the person of interest for many of us. But he had eyes only for Dora.

Dora was uber gorgeous. Her caramel colored hair, gymnast body and doll face. I had a crush on her too.

But it broke my heart when on Valentine's day he proposed to her infront of the whole school, and she said Yes. Half the school was heart broken because the guys couldn't get her and the girls lost him. I was double upset because I couldn't get either of them. I had lost them both together.

It has been almost twenty years and I actually don't feel anything seeing them today. I guess I might actually be over them.

It might also be because Kevin now has lost his hair with a receding hairline and a huge bulging tummy, just like pops. He kept running his hand over his bald spot, unsuccessfully trying to cover it up.

Dora has lost her charm too. Aging did not suit her well. Sure, I look like a toddler from the early 90s who doesn't know how to dress, but she looks like a wannabe cool mom in her forties. She wore high heels and tight pants that did not flatter her.

But what made me the happiest could be the fact that Kevin and Dora did not end up getting married. Nope. The two high school sweethearts married other people and had their kids.

Nevertheless, they looked happy as they stood chatting with their old schoolmates in front of the church. Surely there has to be some tension there. Their spouses can't be that happy with the situation.
Sigh. How would I know? And does it matter now? Not really.

I must have been staring for too long because suddenly, one among them raised their hand and waved at me.

I felt like a deer caught in the head lights. I waved back and immediately saw all of their heads turn to look at me. Without wasting time, I walked as fast as I could avoiding eye contact. Now was not the time for chit chat.

As I walked away, I heard their murmurs gradually rise. I was pretty sure that they were discussing about me, and I didn't want to go back to correct them, exchange pleasantries or give them more to talk about.