I’m sure humans who end up in relationships with dwarves or mortal elves have their own issues related to time. After all, for a person who would be hard pressed to see the turn of their first century, sharing your life with someone who could easily live to see three or even five centuries pass surely can’t be a trivial thing. But when compared to loving a high elf… And it’s not like there’s really anyone in my situation who I can compare notes with. Out of the thousand high elves who were formed from the light of the first dawn at the birth of the world, only a handful remain in the waking world. Most of them have long since chosen to become one with the world tree, forever locked in peaceful slumber, gently cradled by the roots of the tree that birthed the world. Of the few High Elves who remain awake, all but one hold themselves aloof, unwilling to associate with lower beings. And it makes sense. After all, it is precisely the passing of too many loved ones, be they friends, spouses or descendants, that drove most of the high elves to seek the solace of eternal slumber. Only my Tia is different. Tiamirel has plenty of descendants, although all but a few are so many generations removed from her that they treat her more like a revered ancestor than a family member. And in her long life, she has had many lovers. Men and women. Dwarves, humans and mortal elves. And each one she has loved completely, but ultimately outlived. And yet, for all the sorrow she must have lived through, Tia never stopped seeing the joy and wonder in the world. Despite being as old as the world itself, she sees beauty in every sunrise, joy in every summer, wonder in every living thing… And it was precisely that unquenchable love of life that drew me to her. I was drawn to her like a flower to the sun, but I never expected her to return my affections. I believed that all I could do was bask in her radiance. So when she returned my affections, it felt as surreal as if the very sun itself had asked a tiny flower to join it for a dance. For three years we courted, but even as my initial wonder passed, inevitably worn down by growing familiarity, my love for her only grew. On the third anniversary of our first kiss, we were wed. At the moment of our handfasting, she promised me that she would love me forever. I, in turn, swore that I would love her for the rest of my days. I knew perfectly well that I was not her first love. The fact that the man who taught me magic when I was a child was her great grandson made that perfectly clear to me long before our relationship even began. And I knew that I would not be her last. If she was the type who allowed grief to rob her of her will to find love, she would have long since sought refuge in eternal slumber, like most of her kind. I had already come to terms with both these things before we even stated courting. After all, it was precisely her seemingly endless capacity for love and joy and wonder that drew me to her in the first place. But there were some times when I felt the vast gulf of time and experience that separates us more keenly than others… The weather was lovely as I came back home. A brief shower of rain had passed into brilliant sunlight, and the whole world sparkled like it was studded with gemstones. It was exactly the kind of day that Tia loved most of all. And that was why I was so surprised to find her kneeling in the garden, a single marigold cradled to her chest as tears flowed down her face. Hurrying over to her side, I knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tia! What’s wrong?” She turned to me with a strained smile. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just… Marigolds were Luca’s favourite flower…” A certain awkward uncertainty fell over me. This wasn’t the first time I had found Tia crying over one of her former spouses, and I never knew quite what to say. I knew that this melancholy mood would pass in time. It always did. Sometimes it lasted a few hours, sometimes a couple of days. But I knew that before long Tia would be back to her usual, sunny, loving self… But as I watched my wife kneeling before me, tears trailing down her face, I realized that simply waiting for her dark mood to pass wasn’t enough for me. Not anymore. And so, I made a request that I had never made before. “Tell me about him.” Tia blinked in surprise. “Are… Are you sure, my love? I always assumed you wouldn’t want to hear about the people I’ve been with in the past.” “Do you really think I’m the type to feel jealous of a man who died centuries before I was even born?” “Well, no, but…” I leaned in close, gently placing my forehead against Tia’s. “When we were wed, you promised to love me forever, and I have never once doubted that promise. And that is why I understand perfectly well that you will always love all those who came before me as well. But unlike you, I can’t promise you an eternal love. All I can offer you is a tiny fraction of forever. And that’s exactly why I want to love every part of you with all my heart, even the parts that belonged to someone else. And one day, when I am gone, I hope that the next person you love will be just as willing to listen to your memories of me.” Tia’s smile shifted, the forced cheer giving way to a sort of gentle melancholy. After giving me a soft kiss, she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “Luca was a frivolous man, but in the most endearing way. The sort that remains a child at heart no matter how old he gets…” As I listened to Tia’s memories, I was a little worried at first. Worried that maybe there was some ember of jealousy within me after all, and that hearing my wife speak of another with such obvious love in her voice would fan those flames. But all I felt was gratitude. After all, every person, be they high elf or human, dragon or dwarf, is shaped in part by their relationships with other people. And as such, a part of the woman I love with all my heart was shaped and defined by the time she shared with Luca. And in a small way, I couldn’t help but come to love him for that. As Tia kept talking, her tears long since dry and her voice rich with love, I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to make sure that the fraction of forever that I was lucky enough to spend with Tia was one that she could reminisce about with just as much love and joy in her voice.