Have You Ever

  They met beneath the fluttering banners of a regional dog show, drawn to the same exuberant Rhodesian Ridgeback with eyes full of fire and a gait like poetry in motion. Both breeders in their own right, they bonded over the subtleties of lineage and the art of raising dogs with both heart and heritage. That day, surrounded by barking excitement and the smell of fresh sawdust, something unspoken passed between them—an understanding, like two souls recognizing home in each other. Weeks turned into months, and soon they had joined lives and kennels, building not just a business, but a sanctuary. Their most prized companion was Thandi, the Ridgeback they’d chosen together from impeccable bloodlines. She was majestic, spirited, and somehow the embodiment of their love. They spent every evening walking her along the coastline, imagining her future litters, envisioning the legacy she'd leave behind. But fate, as it sometimes does, took a cruel turn. Thandi began to weaken. Her eyes l...

  The bell over the door tinkled sweetly each morning as Maren unlocked her florist shop, Salt & Bloom . The air inside was a swirl of lavender, eucalyptus, and whispered memories. For thirty years, she'd arranged the flowers that framed local weddings, comforted mourners, and brightened hospital rooms. After her husband passed, the shop became her anchor—and her outlet. Their children, grown and married, lived hours away, leaving Maren surrounded by bouquets but starved for companionship. The seaside town of St. James had embraced her—the community matriarch with salt-streaked curls and fingers always stained with pollen. Her arrangements were artful, storytelling in colour. But despite the comfort of routine, her heart ached in the quiet hours. Loneliness didn’t shout. It settled gently, like dew. One spring morning, with the ocean mist curling against the windows, a man stepped into the shop. His name was Elias—an artist on retreat, drawn to the coast by its quiet and lig...

  The town of St. Helena Bay stirred before dawn, a sleepy fishing village where tides set the rhythm of daily life and surnames carried the weight of generations. The Van Zyl's were legends along the West Coast—tough men with calloused hands, loud voices, and unbreakable wills. Of the three brothers, Theo was the star. Eldest, boldest, and revered like the prow of a ship breaking waves. Jasper, the youngest, was all cheek and laughter. And Daniel—the middle child—was the kind of quiet that you only noticed once it was gone. Next door lived Lila Du Toit. Her father was a boat mechanic; her mother, a church organist. She walked barefoot in summer and smelled like lemons and engine oil. In school, she and Daniel shared a desk, trading homework answers and stolen glances. She liked the way he listened, how he spoke with care. But her heart drifted toward Theo, whose swagger burned brighter than the sun bouncing off the tide. Daniel knew. And while he never said a word, the silence ...

  In a city scarred by conflict, Daniel’s voice was a lifeline. A journalist stationed in a war-torn country, his camera and pen bore witness to truths the world could not ignore. Back home in South Africa, his wife Marlene clung to each message he managed to send—fragments of their love stitched through unstable connections. Then the world changed again. COVID swept through borders like wildfire, grounding flights and severing exit routes. The planes—aging, overworked—were deemed unsafe. Airlines were ordered to halt international travel. Daniel was now stranded, not by choice, but by circumstance. Each day, Marlene watched the news, praying that the distant echoes of gunfire didn’t silence the man she loved. And he, trapped between duty and longing, whispered into his recorder every night: “My love for you is constant and unfaltering, regardless of how far apart we are.” Their story became one of endurance—of letters folded into memory, of dreams suspended in time. And throu...

  They met in a crowded lecture hall at university—two ambitious minds drawn to the same business course, always sitting one row apart but catching each other's gaze with quiet curiosity. At first, it was friendship built on caffeine-fuelled study sessions and debates over marketing strategies. When they graduated, they did what dreamers do—they started a business together, pouring long nights and bold ideas into a startup that felt like their baby. The office became a second home, and somewhere between shared victories and learning from their missteps, the lines between work and heart blurred. One late evening, while reviewing budgets and brainstorming campaigns, she looked up and found him watching her with something different in his eyes—not focus, not fatigue, but awe. He softly said, “You’re my home in all this chaos.” From that moment, their bond deepened—not just as partners in profit, but partners in life. They went from business meetings to beach walks, from strategy p...

  The ballroom shimmered with candlelight and whispered secrets. Silk gowns glided across polished marble floors, and laughter rang like crystal against the grand chandelier overhead. It was an evening hosted by the Crème de la Crème of society—an affair where alliances were made and hearts occasionally lost. She stood near the edge of the gilded room, a vision in midnight blue silk, her hair swept into a regal twist. The Duchess of Windmere—widowed too young, a paragon of grace, known for her quiet poise and guarded smile. But it was her eyes that held legends—eyes the color of ocean storms, eyes that pierced through pleasantries and peeled back façades. He saw her before she saw him. The Duke of Ashbourne—unwed, untamed, and unwilling to play the polished games of his peers. With a reputation as mysterious as his past, he was more likely to be found chasing storms than sipping champagne. And yet, this night, dressed in sharp black and silver, he was here. For reasons unknown ...

" You are my sanctuary in this wild and crazy world. The depth of my love for you surpasses all comprehension, and I must acknowledge that." She had belted those words on stage to thousands, but tonight—inside a dim greenroom in the heart of Nashville—they were for him alone. Harper Lane was a name the world hadn't screamed in years, not since the charts cooled and her final encore faded into quiet retirement. But when the world turned upside down and a spontaneous performance went viral, it lit a fire she thought had burned out. A year-long tour of the States followed—a whirlwind of spotlights, hotel rooms, and backstage nerves. Through every city, every sleepless night, he was there. Eli had started as just her manager. A calm force with a gift for logistics, he had eyes like warm granite and the patience of a saint. He mapped out the stages, wrangled the crews, and made sure she ate when she was too tired to remember what day it was. But somewhere between booking f...

  I find joy in your smile. I only want to tell you one thing: I love you with all my heart. That’s what Harold whispered to Elsie as they sat side by side on the sun-dappled porch of their seaside home—perhaps for the last time. After nearly 70 years of shared memories, world travels, quiet rituals, and loud belly laughs, their chapter by the ocean was drawing to a close. Now in their 90s, both sharp of mind and kind of heart, they'd found themselves facing a new threshold. Their children, scattered across continents, called often but couldn’t be near. The family home, once filled with the patter of grandchildren’s feet and the aroma of Sunday roasts, had grown too large, too quiet. So with great courage—and aching tenderness—they decided it was time to downsize, to simplify, to step gently into a new community: a retirement village nestled in the hills. The move wasn't easy. Every drawer held a memory, every box a moment. Their garden of roses, which Harold tended with lo...