The Old Couple's Truth

They caught sight of themselves in the mirror and laughed.
 
Together for fifty years, now moments from death.
 
He echoed her fading smile, and together they held hands — until they could not.
 
When the villagers found them the next morning, no one could understand why the couple looked so happy.
 
Nobody, except one.
 
As if summoned by the breeze that rattled the old sash window, an old man appeared in the room.
 
He explained how the couple had lived their lives through their soul.
 
The others looked at him blankly. Some told him to stop messing around — there was work to be done.

Several grumbled that the couple had been poor, often struggling to pay their bills — how could they show such soul happiness, leaving behind no tangible wealth?
 
The old man just smiled. Then, he laughed.
 
“I shall say no more,” he said, “for in your statements, you will find the answer.
 
And when you do, you’ll smile. You’ll giggle. You’ll laugh aloud!
 
Then you’ll pause — and in a blink, you’ll realize the real you, your soul, has been witnessing everything all along.
 
The real you has been watching your whole life unfold.
 
Only then will you look upon this couple and truly understand.
 
You’ll see it all through the filter of love.
 
And those who continue on, blinded to this truth, will only make you laugh louder at their folly.
 
For truth cannot be anything else. And in this universal way, truth becomes a wonderful thing to hold onto whenever you need strength.”
 
As the sash window rattled once more, the old man left the room, never to be seen again.
 
Those who were there that day, in the sunlit room, often recall how two small orbs of light seemed to follow him out, dancing joyfully around his form as the morning sun played on the crystal the couple had hung in the window.
 
Some of the more serious villagers dismissed it as just a tale.
 
But those who understood are often found chuckling softly when no one’s watching.