English Original
A British man and his Spanish former sweetheart have finally married, 16 years after they drifted apart, reunited by a love letter lost behind a fireplace for over a decade.
Steve Smith and Carmen Ruiz-Perez, both now 42, fell in love 17 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student in southwest England. They got engaged after only a year together, but their relationship ended after she moved to Paris to run a shop.
A few years later, in a bid to rekindle their love, Smith tracked down her mother's address in Spain and sent a letter there. It was placed on the mantelpiece but slipped down behind the fireplace and was lost for over a decade.
The missing missive was only found when builders removed the fireplace during renovation work.
"When I got the letter I didn't phone Steve right away because I was so nervous," Ruiz-Perez told the Herald Express. "I nearly didn't phone him at all. I kept picking up the phone then putting it down again. But I knew I had to make the call."
When they were reunited, it was as if time had stood still, said Smith, a factory supervisor.
"When we met again it was like a film. We ran across the airport into each other's arms. We met up and fell in love all over again. Within 30 seconds of setting eyes on each other we were kissing. I'm just glad the letter did eventually end up where it was supposed to be," he said, after the couple married last Friday.
中文翻译
据报道，一位英国男子和他西班牙的昔日恋人，在分手16年后终于喜结连理。让他们重聚的，是一封在壁炉后丢失了十多年的情书。
史蒂夫·史密斯和卡门·鲁伊斯-佩雷斯，两人现年均为42岁。17年前，当卡门作为交换生在英格兰西南部学习时，他们坠入爱河，仅相处一年便订了婚。但当她搬到巴黎经营一家商店后，他们的关系便结束了。
几年后，为了重燃爱火，史密斯找到了她在西班牙的母亲的地址，并寄去了一封信。信被放在了壁炉架上，却滑落到了壁炉后面，丢失了十多年。
这封丢失的信件直到建筑工人在翻修期间拆掉壁炉时才被发现。
"当我收到信时，我没有立刻给史蒂夫打电话，因为我太紧张了，"鲁伊斯-佩雷斯告诉《先驱快报》。"我差点就没打给他。我不断地拿起电话又放下。但我知道我必须打这个电话。"
工厂主管史密斯说，当他们重聚时，仿佛时间静止了。
"当我们再次见面时，就像电影一样。我们跑过机场，投入彼此的怀抱。我们重逢并再次坠入爱河。在看到对方的30秒内，我们就开始亲吻。我很高兴这封信最终到达了它该去的地方，"在这对夫妇上周五结婚后，他说道。