Ned finally agreed. They both knew the only person who could find the building where the man lived was Frank. They wanted to see if Frank would lead them through the woods.

When they reached the room, Nancy knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened by Frank. He ushered them into the room and closed the door behind them.

Frank said, “I’m surprised to see you. I figured you would be at home taking it easy.”

“I couldn’t relax yet,” Nancy said sitting on the edge of Frank’s bed. “There’s a reason why we’re here.”

“What is it?” Frank asked leaning against the dresser.

“Do you remember the building where you found me?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I want to see the man. I want to thank him for helping me.” She looked at Frank. “Can you take me there?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll drive,” Ned said.

“Let me leave a message for Joe, and we’ll go.”

“I appreciate this, Frank.”

“It’s no problem.”

* * * * *

Ned drove to the road on the side of the river. They got out and made their way along the riverbank. As they walked, Ned urged Nancy to be careful.

They made their way through the woods. They walked for a while. Nancy said, “I can’t believe how far we’re going.”

“It’s a long way,” Frank admitted.

They walked a little further and reached the building. It was a small cabin. It was rundown. Boards were strewn on the ground. The shutters were dangling from a single hinge by the window.

Nancy reached for the door. She knocked on the door before taking a step back.

The door slowly opened. Nancy saw the man poke his head out from behind the door. He opened it fully. He ushered them in. Nancy went in first. Frank followed with Ned coming in last. The man stepped back from them. He asked, “Why did you come back here?”

Nancy looked at Frank and Ned. She looked back at the man. “I came here to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, I might not be here now. I owe you my life.”

“I saw you needed help. So, I helped you. There’s no need for thanks.”

“Yes, there is. You deserve my thanks and much more. You gave me the chance to live my life. Now, I can marry the man I always dreamed of marrying. You made that dream possible.”

“You made that dream possible for both of us,” Ned said. He moved toward the man. “I want to thank you also. I’m grateful you rescued her. She means the world to me. We both owe you a lot.”

Ned extended his hand. The man reached out his hand and they shook. The man said, “I did what I thought was right.”

“Thank you,” Nancy said and shook the man’s hand.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

The three of them left the cabin and made their way back through the woods. As they walked, Ned put his arm around Nancy’s waist.

Frank broke the silence. “So, what’s going to happen with the wedding?”

“Ned and I talked about it. We decided to postpone the wedding until September.”

“Really?” Frank asked. “I thought you two would elope after this incident.”

“It was a thought,” Ned admitted. “But we thought we should have a nice wedding.” Ned looked at Nancy. “We figure things should be back to normal by then.”

Nancy looked at Frank. “Will you come back in September for the wedding?”

Frank smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Nancy smiled at they made their way back to the car. She felt pretty good. She had survived the car crash with just a broken arm. A man who could’ve left her in the car to die helped her. The man had helped her out of the kindness of his heart.

She knew she’d been lucky. Things could’ve been a whole lot worse. She knew she could wait to marry Ned. She knew this had been tough on him. She had been willing to marry him right then, but he wanted their wedding to be memorable for both of them, not rushed.

Nancy knew their love was unbreakable. No matter what happened, they would love each other until the end of time. Nancy knew they would be happy together, forever.

--The End--