One Life Well and Truly Promised

By: Richard D. Parker

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

It began six thousand years ago, before the birth of the Akkadian Empire, with a pair of young lovers. Destinies entwined around a first, pure love, a tragic ending, and a promise.


“I want you to promise me a life,” she whispered so softly he barely heard her. She slowly sat up and searched the gloom of the hut warily.

“Akhila!” Akintunde hissed quietly, glancing about fearfully. It was strictly taboo to speak of future lives and a well-known harbinger of ill luck. If an attentive god should hear, whether good or evil, they might strike you dead so that you could quickly begin the new life you so coveted.

Akhila flinched but quickly regained her resolve.

“I’m afraid Tunde,” she admitted and then leaned closer and lowered her voice. “The gods could all be gone…or dead. One life…just one full life…promise.” Akintunde paused, straining his senses, wildly searching for the presence of a god. Of course, he failed in the endeavor, but his eyes fearfully scanned the interior of the hut nevertheless.

“I promise,” he mouthed, just above a whisper and a wave of dread swept through him. Though there was no outward sign of change, he knew his words were the beginning. He could feel it. The destiny of his soul had been forever changed.
Spanning the breadth of recorded history, this timeless historical saga follows two unfortunate lovers across the globe in their never-ending quest to fulfill a promise of love and life. Through the Polynesian South Pacific, to the tribal lands of the Iceni in early Britain, fortune contrives again and again to keep the entangled souls apart. From war-torn Japan in the twelfth century, to the mountainous tea regions of Darjeeling, Bengal, the two lovers struggle to reunite.

Until finally, in the fertile fields of the American Midwest, the story culminates in ways even destiny could not have imagined.