Free Wishful Thinking (a journey that will change lives forever) by Melissa Hill Page B

then.”
    “But he didn’t give in,” Ruth finished.
    “No, not that time.  As I said, he did try and contact me, saying things like ‘I don’t want to part on bad terms’, things like that, but I didn’t want to hear it.  And up until a week or two after he left, I was still convinced he’d come back to me.”
    She shook her head sadly.  “About six weeks into his travels, he sent me a letter, basically saying that he’d forever treasure our time together, and it was a shame it had to end badly.”
    Ruth sighed dreamily. “I can see now why you’re kicking yourself – he does sound perfect.”
    “He was,” Dara said quietly, “but I was an idiot.”
    “But that was what, ages ago?  Surely, you’ve seen him since? Surely he’s come home since?”
    Dara shook her head. “I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so.”
    “He never returned at all? For Christmas, holidays – nothing?”
    “Not that I know of.  And given his circumstances after that I doubt it,” she added cryptically.
    “So what happened?” Ruth implored. “Why did he stay away? Or did he get kidnapped or stabbed or … Sorry,” she added quickly, when Dara glared at her. “Seriously, what happened ?”
    Dara shrugged.  “He just settled elsewhere.”
    “Look, you said that letting him go was the biggest mistake of your life.  Well, for someone who made such a big mistake, you didn’t exactly bust your backside trying to rectify it, did you? When you finally came to your senses or should I say – when you finally grew up – sorry –” she gave Dara a winning smile, “why didn’t you go after him – or try and contact him – something ?”
    Dara sighed. “It was too late by then.”
    “But why?”
    Then Dara told her how, upon finally realising that she had made a huge mistake, she’d tried to find some way of contacting him, perhaps an address, mobile phone number, email address – anything.
    She’d made a few cautious enquiries of Noah’s parents and discovered that he was still travelling, but as far as they were aware, perfectly fine.  He was by then nearly six months into his travels and “probably in the middle of the Outback somewhere”, his mother had told her, and apparently they hadn’t heard too much from him recently. 
    “And did he say when he’d be back?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral, not wanting to push it.  It was obvious by Carol Morgan’s clipped tones on the other end of the telephone that she wasn’t going to give Dara too much information.  Noah’s mother obviously had some idea of the reason they’d split, and she probably didn’t want this desperate madwoman following her son halfway across the world, trying to get a ring on his finger.  It had been mortifying, but Dara had to know.
    “He’s staying away for another six months – probably longer – that’s all I know.”
    “Oh.” Dara was disappointed.  She’d hoped a year away travelling had meant just that.
    So, for the time being, she told Ruth, she could do nothing other than simply wait for his return.  She couldn’t follow him, as she didn’t know where in the world he might be – she couldn’t contact him, because according to Carol Morgan, he didn’t stay in any one place long enough to have a base.
    In the meantime, she got on with her life, she worked long hours at her new job, saw some of her friends get engaged, and a few of them get married, while all the time her mothers’ spinster-related comments got louder and more annoying.  But Dara had no interest in going out with other men and wasting her time and theirs, when she knew in her heart and soul that Noah was The One for her.  She just hoped that when he did eventually come back, he’d feel the same way.  It was a hell of a chance to take, but what else could she do?
    But when a further year passed, Dara began to get tired of waiting for his return and decided to take matters into her own hands.  If his mother wouldn’t