alta feared falling in love; it felt too much like losing the tenuous grasp she had on her freedom. so she avoided getting attached to people, always moving on to a new place before she allowed herself to get to close to anyone. she broke her own rule, though, when she came across a man who had retreated so deep into the darkness that he had begun to go mad. she took it upon herself to walk with him in the path back to the light.
months passed, and he slowly began to regain his health and his mind, and alta began to lose her heart. when she realized this, she disappeared one night without so much as a word. she tried to forget about him, but she could not shake him from her mind, no matter what she tried. yet even as she suffered from his absence after he had forced so much change, she never could bring herself to wish she hadn't met him. he had brought so much joy into her world that had seemed so small, and now she could not remember what her world was like before she loved him.
returning to a small village near where they had first met, she thought about going to find him but in the end, he found her first. he confessed his love for her, and alta realized that if it was to him, then being tied to someone was not such a terrible fate. surely, it could not be worse than being without him. people say they were married that very day, not wishing to be apart any longer, and that their life together has been nothing but happiness.
when their first child was born, the couple settled down near their beloved sea in the town where they were married to raise their family. their firstborn twins were followed by a son, then three daughters. their home always echoed with laughter, and they instilled in their children the values that had come to bring them together. no matter how many years passed, the love between the couple never lessened, only grew, and to this day the couple is adored by all who pass through their home.
