Lila Loves Lilacs
When Liam Campbell was 12 years-old, he was given a pen pal. While all the other boys in his class were given other boys with whom to correspond in the United States, Liam, because they had run out of American boys to dole out, was given a girl named Lila, much to Liam’s annoyance. Lila’s first letter was given to him, which read:
“My name is Lila. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here is a list of things I love:
- Horses
- Pistachio Ice Cream
- My treehouse that has a secret hiding place for special treasures, and
- Lilac – the color and the flower
I hope I get to hear about you.
Sincerely,
Lila M.”
Liam wrote back:
“My name is Liam. I am 12 years old. I live in Argyll. I only love one thing. Football. And I hate girls.
Sincerely,
Liam C.:
Liam soon found out that Lila was not to be dissuaded. She wrote back. And then Liam wrote back. Year after year, they wrote. Liam learned that Lila, who insisted on calling football, soccer, kept a journal in the hiding place of her treehouse, along with a sparrow feather, an Indian arrowhead that she had found one day in 8th grade, a lilac ribbon that was exactly the hue of the color she loved, a blue ribbon she had received for showing her horse at the county fair and Liam’s letters. All of which, she told him, were her most favorite possessions in the whole world. Liam no longer hated girls.
Lila cheered Liam up when he broke his ankle and had to sit out the rest of the football season. Liam gave Lila a pep talk when the boy in science class asked the other girl to prom. Both cried over the loss of Lila’s horse. Both laughed about Liam’s headmaster’s toupe. Both counted the days until the next letter.
Letters became phone calls; friendship became love. And during Summer break after the second year of Uni, Lila flew across an ocean to finally meet the man who was her best friend.
So, it was on that trip that Liam, who knew what Lila loved, drove her to a castle on the edge of a loch and went down on one knee in front of her in a courtyard spilling with lilac bushes and read to her a list of what he had learnt she loved; of what he loved about her:
- Lila loves horses
- Lila loves pistachio ice cream
- Lila loves Western novels
- Lila loves sunsets more than sunrises
- Lila loves cheating at cards
- Lila loves Johnny Cash
- Lila loves making lists of things money can’t buy
- Lila loves asking old people for directions even when she knows where she’s going
- Lila loves cows that wear bells
- Lila loves lilac – the color and the flower
- and he hoped, Lila loves Liam
…and she did.