A young couple had fallen in love but, due to unforeseen circumstances, had lost touch with each other for almost a year. Not having spoken a word the entire time, they were almost at the end of their tether when one day, by chance, they came face to face in a rose garden.
“My darling, I can't believe my eyes!” gasped the boy, almost out of breath. “I've been heartbroken and lost without you. Life's been nothing but hell; my tears have dried up altogether. I've endured more hardship than I can fathom.”
He went on and on without letting the girl utter a single word. He was so engrossed in his story of self-pity that his eyes glistened with selfish tears! The girl listened to him patiently until she found an opportunity to speak.
“You've done everything, my dear, except the main thing,” she told him sadly.
“What could that possibly be?” asked the young man, flabbergasted.
“You've clutched vainly at issues that are only secondary and given up on the main issue, which is understanding the essence of love!”
“What's the essence of love?” he asked, confused.
“Nothingness!”
“Nothingness?” the boy blurted out, even more confused.
“Yes, my dear, you did everything you thought was proper, believing that's what lovers must do. But you forgot that you must be ready to die for your love. You're still alive, and very much so. If you're a true lover, then die right here before me so I know that you believe you must give up your entire being for your love.”
When the young man heard his beloved's words, he quietly lay down before her feet, closed his eyes, and simply expired, bearing a wide, contented smile on his young lips as he passed from this life.