Ada Monroe & Inman

"Dear Mr. Inman, I began by counting the days, then the months. I don't count on anything anymore except the hope that you will return, and the silent fear that in the years since we saw each other, this war, this awful war, will have changed us both beyond all reckoning."

The war was to be over in a month... he had promised to return within 30 days.

"My love for Linton is like the foliage in the wood. Time will change it... I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath, a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nellie, I AM Heathcliff! He's always, always on my mind. Not as a pleasure any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as part of my own being."- Ada was reading from Wuthering Heights to Ruby.

I am not a big fan of Wuthering Heights, because my first love is 'Mr. Rochester' from "Jane Eyre". Reading it at the age of 14, has left an indelible impression on my heart. I have not liked any other character that much i think.... no name that comes to mind instantly.

Cold Mountain is a love story that touched me deeply. There are very few films i like to watch twice, if i have a chance and this is one of them. It is as good as reading a book, no movie could come this close. It is a 2003 film based on Charles Frazier's novel, about how in the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart. The cinematography is just awesome. The scene i love the most is when Ada opens her window and stretches her hand out in the softly falling snow. Another one that came close is Inman walking home to Ada... passing through the snow on the mountains, one early morning, against a rising crimson sun. Hope in hopelessness...these scenic captured moments convey to me.

What made him come back from war? Inspite of all the danger lurking every minute and after coming so close to dying each time.

Her words : "I will not leave Cold Mountain. My last thread of courage is to wait... for you."

"If you are fighting, stop fighting.
If you are marching, stop marching.
Come back to me.
Come back to me is my request. "

"My love, where are you? With no hope of reaching you, i write to you as i always do. As i have always done."

Another scene that really moved me was when a young war widow, Sara who gives him shelter one night remembers and misses her husband so much that she painfully asks Inman : "Will you lie down beside me and not feel the need to go further?" He does as she requests and says gently, " I love someone very dearly. Try and sleep." I don't remember seeing such a scene in any movie or reading such a story in any book. The gentleman who conveys valiantly that he loves his woman, yet he does not flinch in lying beside her, because his conscience is clear, he is so certain that this woman, Sara is like a sister / daughter who needs some comfort, that's all. As long as a writer can even imagine such a thing, there is hope in this world. This is in stark contrast to Alec d'Urberville... of a Thomas Hardy classic. Well... those thoughts are reserved for another time.

As the story winds to an end, Ada says : "What we have lost will never be returned to us. The land will not heal. The heart will not heal. All we can do is try and make peace with the past and learn from it."

"There are days now when i manage not to think of you when the needs of the farm call with more urgency than my heart. This time of year, there is so much life everywhere... i find you in all of it, as if you were still walking home to me."

"If you could see us now, this easter day at 'Black-Cove', you would know, every step of your journey was worth it."

For lovers who love each other madly, a lifetime of togetherness or a few hours can seem too short but as fulfilling as a blessing. True love is rare... how many hearts can suffer for long or give up their lives for the sake of love? So, if you've been touched by love, don't ever let it go. It is a great blessing indeed to be a testimony of love.

A must see movie for any romantic at heart.... heartfully recommended. Signing off with my own personal quote : "Love is the only tangible thing in this intangible world."