My final exam was held on my eighteenth birthday—November fifteenth. Ki finished a few days before me, and it had been torture studying when freedom was so close.
“Happy birthday, baby,” Ki said when I walked out of the school hall. He pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head. “How did you do?”
“Nailed it,” I replied, kissing him properly. “We survived.”
“We did, and our life is only just beginning.”
I reached for his hand and kissed his palm.
As we approached our clearing by the river, thousands of happy childhood memories flooded my mind. Ki wrapped an arm around me and covered my eyes with his other hand.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything, but nudged my back to keep me moving. After a few short steps, he stopped me.
“Open your eyes,” he said, dropping his hand.
My hands whipped up to cover my mouth. “Oh my God.” When I met his eyes, they were so full of love, I thought I might die. He’d laid out the words ‘Happy Birthday’ in the ground using pebbles and a few sticks.
“I didn’t have enough time to do the whole thing with pebbles,” he said, chuckling.
“I love it.”
“I actually thought about proposing, you know.”
“Really?” I felt a small pang of disappointment that he hadn’t, but I shook it off.
“I had a speech planned and everything.”
“Tell me,” I said. “I’d like to hear it.”
“I plan to use it one day though.”
“I don’t care.” I looked up at him through my eyelashes and knew he couldn’t refuse. “Please.”
He shook his head. “Okay, fine.” Taking a deep breath, he began. “My Emerson. My best friend and the love of my life. You will always be the most important person to me, and I want to be your husband more than I want anything in this world.”
A few happy tears slipped down my cheeks, and my smile was splitting my face in two.
“I was going to write ‘Marry me’ or ‘Will you marry me?’ with pebbles but went with ‘Happy Birthday’ instead.”
I swooned even though the proposal wasn’t actually happening.
“I promise to always love you in this life and the next.”
“In this life and the next.” I repeated his words, staring up into the eyes of the most wonderful person to ever grace this planet. I wanted to be his wife more than I wanted anything.
“Without breaking eye contact, I was going to slip a ring on your wedding finger, but you wouldn’t have looked at it because you don’t care about expensive trinkets.”
I smiled. “I’d have said yes.”
A grin split his face. “Happy birthday, baby,” he said and then lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my wedding finger where his ring would one day sit. “In this world and the next.”
I looked up, questioning him with my eyes.
“That’s what I will have engraved on your ring. I love you in this world and the next.”
“You’re killing me, Ki. When did you become such a romantic?”
“I guess you bring it out in me.” He chuckled, then grabbed something from his back pocket. “Here is something I actually did buy you for your birthday.”
He handed me a flyer for the monthly market held in town. “You bought me the markets?” I asked, laughing.
“No,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I rented a stall so you can sell your art there this Saturday.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly.”
“You think it’s good enough to sell?”
He cupped my face with his palms. “Your drawings are amazing, and you’re going to be a famous artist one day, Emerson.”
I laughed but quietly revelled in his unwavering belief in me.
“Well, as long as you come with me, thank you. I’m excited to give it a shot.”
“Of course I’ll be there.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening soaking up the beauty of our special place. I was going to miss it, but I knew that I’d always be happy as long as Mereki was by my side.
“I wonder how many hours I’ve spent fishing here,” he said out of the blue.
I looked up and found him staring out towards the river. “Thousands, I guess.” I didn’t even bother trying to calculate. “Same amount as I spent pushing stones into the ground or sketching.”
He turned and looked at me, and I was struck by how mature he now looked compared to when we were young kids. His black hair had grown out a bit, but it was still shorter than it had been when we met. We’d both been scrawny kids, but he’d grown into the striking man in front of me with muscular arms and broad shoulders who completely owned my heart.
“I’m going to miss this place,” he said.
“We can come back whenever we want.”
He walked over, sat behind me, and wrapped me in his arms. We were quiet for a few moments, staring at the slow-moving water. “I’m happy wherever you are, but this place just feels safe, and it makes me feel that anything is possible.”
I leaned back into him. “Life around us can change as much as it wants. As long as we have each other, we’re invincible. Nothing can touch what we have right here.” I glanced up at the setting sun, drawn to its fading light. “We take the safety of this place wherever we go.”
Mereki whispered in my ear, “I want to hold on to this feeling forever.”
“As long as you hold onto me forever, too.”