'A Love That Was Lost' by Rosie Pugh

Amanda lay on her bed, resting her head on the soft pillow. Her mind went back to a time long before, a memory brought on by the sight of a beautiful pendant worn by a lady who had sat opposite to her in the dining room. A tear trickled down Amanda’s cheek for a love she had and then lost. Would her life have been different if she had been brave and faced the world with the young man she loved by her side?
It had all happened when she had been on holiday in Guernsey with her friend Pat. They had arrived on a Saturday in June in the summer of 1963. The guesthouse and the island were beautiful and right by the sea. It was the first time she had been on a plane and her first proper holiday.
On the Sunday night they were taken to a dance in a lovely hotel and it was her first dance. The lights dimmed. The music filtered through. It was a recording of ‘Living Doll’ by Cliff Richard. Suddenly, there was a gentle touch on Amanda’s shoulder. She looked up into the deepest of blue eyes and a smile that was like the reflection of the sun. Her heart was fluttering as she felt the colour rise into her cheeks.
‘Will you dance with me?’ he asked.
Amanda’s feet turned to jelly and her heart soared as high as an eagle as he led her to the dance floor. All night they danced. She felt she was in heaven surrounded by angels. They were lost on the crest of a wave. They spent the rest of the holiday together, exchanged addresses and promised to meet again as soon as they could.
He sent Amanda a birthday card and the most beautiful pendant with a blue stone encrusted between a gold hoop like a horseshoe. Life was wonderful.
But Amanda was unaware her life was to change. Her mother entrusted to her with a secret that would change her life. So with a broken heart she turned away without saying a word and he was never to know the reason why. She was to take another path; and a path that would lead her further and further from him But many times her mind has drifted back to those days and thoughts of what might have been.