The Beginning of the Story....Us

I had to smile as I read Stone’s account of our real life meeting. It’s not often you get a glimpse into what another person is really feeling and even less when it looks so glowing on yourself.

But I did notice he left the explanation of our early “courtship” to me.  Thanks honey! 

Before I get to our story, let me say that I totally understood Stone's concepts of"bleeder" and "player" right off the bat. I too, am a "bleeder". I find I bring aspects of my real life to SL and SL definitely bleeds over to my real life.

March 2013....I was at an embracing with my then Liege and getting bored like I usually do, I started camming around. There, off to the side, stood a guy in full Goth regalia.  There was something about him and I found myself trying to think of a way to meet him.  So, I accidentally backed into him…on purpose.

What? Don’t look at me that way….It worked! I mean, I had to apologize, right? And he pretty much had to respond, right?

What I hadn’t expected was the intensity from this guy. I think he pretty much decided quickly to pursue me. Stone saw "us" differently than I did. I won’t go into all the details but there were many “discussions” at midnight.  I guess putting the word "discussions" in quotes leaves too much to the interpretation of you, the reader, so let me say outright, we argued terribly.
 

The harder he pushed…the more I argued and ran away, but here we were, night after night, talking to each other.  I just couldn’t stay away. One night, I felt pulled from too many directions and backed into a corner and I decided I had enough…I was leaving Second Life.  For those of you who hate drama, this was the epitome of drama. 

I left the gathering we were all at and I went to each of my SL places I stayed and gathered my things up. I wouldn’t answer anyone and I logged out of SL and turned off Skype. Around 3am, I remembered one additional item I had left behind. Knowing all my friends would be asleep, I came back on to SL, entering in a Sim that very few people knew I went to for solitude. As I rezzed, I realized I wasn’t alone. There stood Stone and I knew, at that moment, I was lost. It was a moment of realization of just how much I cared for him.

That’s not to say everything was smooth after that, but I had finally admitted my feelings and decided we belonged together. Shhh, don't tell him but...*whispers*....he was right.

Stone mentions our first formal “date” in SL was at Batista’s and he’s right, it was amazing. And it’s funny to read how he wanted to come across well, because I was having butterflies wanting the same thing. 

Time passed and one day, while we were dancing, he spied a piano and wanted to go play. I walked across the dance floor with him when all of a sudden he stopped and got down on one knee. You know how some things just don’t register? I had no idea what was going on. Yes, he proposed to me and I became his wife, proudly, in September 2013.

Walking down the aisle, all of our friends with us, sounds like a happily ever after moment, right? Yeah, right….Our wedding will probably go down in the record books as the most “griefed” event in Second Life. For reasons that are still unknown, someone didn’t want our wedding day to go as planned. The griefing started the moment we stood before our Queen, Isoly, to take our vows. And it didn’t let up. As it continued, our family pulled together to make sure our wedding went on. At one point, even the Queen was high above our Sim, trying to stop the attacks.

Somehow I was able to say the vows I had written for Stone...

"Stone, months ago, I looked up and there you were. Your presence filled the room and I was compelled to meet you but just didn’t know how….so I accidentally backed into you….on purpose.

From the very beginning, you saw something in me that I didn’t see. We had these wonderfully quiet conversations at midnight where you tried to convince me to see it too. The more time I spent with you, the more I believed in us. 
 Then there was that night I returned to SL and you alone were there. It was that moment, standing on that beach, when I knew I loved you. You told me you would have waited forever and I was done; I was yours.

Your love has been absolute and never wavering. You’ve shared a vision and I want to be a part of it. I now proudly stand beside you promising my love and support to you when things are good and my arms when things aren’t. This life isn’t easy to walk thru…my hand is here…take it.  You are my strength, my love, my future. My sweet, I never saw myself standing here until I looked in your eyes."

By the time we said our “I do’s”, there were family members on the roof of the town and high in the sky, trying to stop each attack as they happened.  All scripts had to be turned off so there were no poseballs and no dancing at the reception.  

Needless to say, I was upset but Stone kept me centered on what was really important. We had each other and wasn’t that the miracle? Then family members started dancing individual dances and wouldn’t leave, no matter that the griefing continued. How could you not love family and friends who stand by you like that?

Stone had been “gently” pushing to meet in real life starting in August. I kept telling him that if it was meant to happen, it would at the right time. As he mentioned, there were hurdles and one by one, they went to the wayside.

One of my worries was…what if we didn’t click in real life like we obviously had in SL? After all, we lead a family, so what if? Stone said I worried too much and I felt he didn’t worry enough. One by one, issues were discussed or set aside as unimportant. Finally, there was nothing left but the decision.

In the end, it really was an easy decision. I wanted to meet this amazing man who had so captivated me.

I have to tell you something I mentioned to my close SL friends. One of the best things I did was to tell Stone…"lets’ get one thing out of the way…let’s admit there are body functions". We both laughed but like I told a friend, we were going from "I’ll wait until he/she is gone" directly to "oh god, don’t go in there".

I had to laugh when I read where he said that we were both a “little nervous”. Truth be told, I was almost sick on my way to the airport. I had told my sister what I was doing and she spent most of my drive to the airport reminding me how to breathe.

I was worried I wouldn’t recognize him, but there was no doubt. I knew him immediately. My heart was pounding but I was smiling. I pulled to the curb and got out. The moment he touched my hand, everything fell into place. All the nerves dissolved…we were there…we had made it…we were together.

The next week was one of the best weeks of my life. We spent a week in the Gold Country of Northern California wine tasting, eating great food and talking. Stone is right. The awkwardness was never there.

So, two weeks later...Stone has gone home and both of us have gone back to work. Before he left, we agreed that I would travel his way in October...then August...now July. 

It's easy to dismiss people in Second Life because they seem to be a dime a dozen. But the good things in life are worth working towards and I'm so glad Stone had the perseverance and vision to see that even when I didn't.

Alatrina Kohld