Tilda and Marcus Say Hello for the Last Time

Here is an illustration I did recently:

Tilda and Marcus said 'Hello' for the first time when they were just small children. Tilda's father was the town vicar and Marcus' father was the town bartender. First, Tilda's father would come into the pub to request that Marcus' father stop serving certain patrons due to a propensity for over consumption that led the drinker astray toward sin. Marcus' father of course could not make such promises. He served the weary hearted seekers that came to him. But he also listened to them and heard their woes and troubles. He knew the demons each town folk faced. He wanted to help them. But he didn't know how. But Marcus's father saw how one day after a service, Tilda's father eased the heart and encouraged the gumption of the iron smith Abe Stallaway with just the right mix of wise words. That's when Marcus's father decided to collaborate with Tilda's father. So one day, he took young Marcus with him to the vicars church. The two men discussed their plans to help the townsfolk. The bartender would listen to their woes and urge them to come to the vicar. If they refused, the bartender would come to the vicar and together they would brainstorm how to steer the the heavy hearted pub patron to a life of less woe. While the two men discussed their plans for the first time, Tilda and Marcus appraised each other. "Hello." Tilda said.

They became friends, and through their fathers, they learned how to work together to save other people. Eventually, their friendship turned to love and they married. Throughout their marriage, they continued their mission to help other people. Even after having their three children, they did not slow down on their projects to help the people around them.

One day, three children were declared missing from the town. They weren't the first children who went missing. Children had been disappearing into the woods for months. There were rumors about what happened. The legends said there were evil creatures prowling the woods. They heard screams in the woods. They saw glowing eyes. The few brave people who had ventured into the woods had disappeared. But Marcus could not stand by any longer while the children kept disappearing. He knew he must go forth into the woods to search for the latest three missing children. He had committed his life to saving those in need, and now when the most vulnerable needed him, he could not fail.

Tilda knew she could accompany her husband. She had her own three children to protect and could not protect the three missing in the woods.

The morning that Marcus was to leave for the woods, he came tentatively into the kitchen where Tilda already was cooking breakfast. The two looked at each other and embraced each other while whispering 'Hello' into each others ear. They wondered if it would be their last Hello and new only time would tell.