Saying I Love You: By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept

Hi bloggers! This week I was rummaging through my collection of books from way back. I found my very battered paperback copy of Paolo Coelho’s By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept. It’s one of my all time favorites and I cannot even tell how many times I have read it,but looking at its dog-eared current condition,I should say maybe a gazillion times. Being the nerd and hopeless romantic that I am, I never tire of it. Although I can pretty much assure you that there are no similarities between the story portrayed on the book and my own. Well, I guess it doesn't have to happen to you to be able to relate to it. It just has to be beautiful and you will appreciate it. Which brings me to the story and how Coelho always makes beautiful ones.
-0-SynopsisRarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, 
but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? 
Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. 
She has learned well how to bury her feelings...and he has turned into religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts. 
Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. 
But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions.
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To start the week right, I'd like to set the mood to love,love,love. That is why I am sharing or highlighting one of my most favorite parts of the book. The part where Pilar's friend finally reveals his true feelings for her. It's right at the early part of the book and from then and there it never fails to tear me up . Here it is. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“I want to give you something,” he said, handling me a small red pouch.I opened it and found inside an old rusty medal, with Our Lady of Grace on one side and the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the other.“That was yours,” he said, noticing my surprise. My heart began to sound the alarm again. “One day – it was autumn, just like it is now, and we must have been ten – I was sitting with you in the plaza where the great oak stood.“I was going to tell you something, something I had rehearsed for weeks. But as soon as I began, you told me that you had lost your medal at the hermitage of San Saturio, and you asked me to  see if I could find it there.”I remembered. Oh, God,I remembered!“I did find it. But when I returned to the plaza, I no longer had the courage to say what I had rehearsed. So I promised myself that I would return the medal to you only when I was able to complete the sentence that I’d begun that day almost twenty years ago. For a long time, I’ve tried to forget it, but it’s always there. I can’t live with it any longer.”
He put down his coffee, lit a cigarette, and looked at the ceiling for a long time. Then he turned to me. “It’s a very simple sentence,” he said. “I love you.”-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the part where I say 'awwwwww'. But mind you, the title of the book does say "Sat Down and Wept", which means that this book is just as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. If this book were turned into a movie,I would certainly be uber excited. I've gone as far as imagining Robert Pattinson playing the male lead. But, he has to transform and look morelike a Spanish guy, and very priestly. :) While Camilla Belle can play Pilar.
What are your thoughts about that?!
How indeed? Grab this amazing book from Paolo Coelho. Available in all leading bookstores in paperback for only Php 285.89
XO,
CarissaAdd me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter and  Tumblr