When I first met Ellie, I thought it was just infatuation. She is so beautiful that she took my breath away. And then I got to know her. Her kind heart and witty sense of humor surprised me at every turn. But still, never in a million years did I think that I would be ready to ask her to marry me.

The thing is that I do not have the best opinions about marriage. I see it as an old-fashioned institution that’s in place to keep people in their place. Instead of being free agents, individuals, we are forced into being couples, or family groups. To share every part of ourselves, even down to our names. Of course, sharing a name isn’t compulsory, but still, there’s the expectation.

These are all the things that I’ve hated about marriage. But mostly, I hated the idea of being with just one person forever. But then I met Ellie. And now, somehow, everything that I was afraid of, everything that I dreaded, everything that I raged against, became insignificant. Instead of hating the idea of waking up with the same woman every morning, I look forward to it. Instead of worrying that I will get bored with her in a year, or five, or even within the month, I know that I won’t and I look forward to starting the adventure of a lifetime.

Despite my reservations about marriage and love everlasting, I bought Ellie’s engagement ring a week after I met her. It had rained all night and I tossed and turned and couldn’t get a wink of shut-eye. In the morning, I decided to go on a run to clear my head. It wasn’t even seven o’clock when I ran past a small boutique jewelry store, down an unfamiliar alleyway that I’d never gone down before. Most of the stores are still closed at this hour, but there was an old man shuffling around in the front, cleaning the windows. And that’s when I saw it.

The ring had somewhat of an antique design with a glittering oval yellow gemstone at the center, surrounded by shiny bright stones all around and all the way down the band. I was going to just keep going, but I couldn’t. It’s as if it had stopped me and pulled me inside. I knocked on the door, but the old man waved me off.

“We’re not open yet,” he said.

“I know, I’m sorry,” I yelled so he could hear me through the glass. “But if you could show me that ring there, I’d be really grateful.”

The old man’s face told me that he was nowhere near being convinced, but against his better judgement, he opened the front door.

“Which one?” he asked, grumpily.

“The one with the yellow stone,” I said.

“It’s a two-carat yellow diamond,” he says, handing me the ring. “Are you going to propose?”

His salesmanship left much to be desired, but I liked him anyway. He wasn’t a people-pleaser and that was a refreshing alternative to most people I dealt with on a daily basis.

“I don’t know. I just met her,” I said, picking up the ring and looking at it closer. Even though it was dark in the store and the clouds outside hung low and looming, this ring still sparkled as if it could make its own light.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Yes, I know. It’s one of my favorites.”

“And these are all diamonds around the band?”

“Of course. High quality ones too.”

I nodded, admiring the ring on my finger.

“Tell me about this girl.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, taken a little aback.

“Well, this is my favorite ring. I bought this ring from a lonely old lady with no family or friends, but lots of money, who wanted it to go to a good home. She asked me what my dream was and I told her that my dream was to open a jewelry store. She gave me money to open this store, right here, and asked me to display this ring in the front. It was one of her favorites. She also asked me to sell it only to the right person.”

“Oh wow,” I mumble.

“Yes,” the old man nodded. “And so far, in forty-seven years, I have not encountered such a person.”

I smiled. Perhaps, this ring is not to be after all.

“So, tell me about this girl.”

I took a deep breath. For a moment, I thought about lying about how we met because a man of his age probably wouldn’t approve of our unconventional meeting place. But then, at the last minute, I decided against it. I was probably not going to get this ring anyway, so why lie?

I told him the truth. I told him about the yacht and the auction. I told him how I always assumed that I would be a bachelor for life, that I was simply incapable of loving one person forever.

“And you’ve only known her for a week?” the old man asked after listening very carefully.

Again, I was tempted to lie or at least obfuscate the truth. It sounded so sappy and stupid that I would feel this way about someone after such a short period of time. But again, I decided to go against my better judgement.

“Maybe that’s not enough time, but it’s just how I feel,” I finally said. “I don’t know much about her, of course, but every part of my being feels at home with her. I feel like I belong with her.”

The man listened very carefully, and looked away after a few moments. I was sure that I had blown it. But I was glad that I told him the truth, even if I didn’t deserve the ring. I had finally admitted something out loud that I had been terrified to admit to myself. I had admitted it and I was a better person for it.

“Well, thank you for your time,” I said after a few moments. “You have a very beautiful ring, but I will not take up any more of your time.”

I turned to leave, when the old man said, “And where do you think you’re going?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want the ring or don’t you?”

“You’re really going to sell it to me?” I asked, not quite believing my ears.

“That is if you can afford it. It’s not cheap.”

“I didn’t think it was.”

The old man looked me up and down and then named the price. Fifty-eight thousand dollars. I nodded. It definitely wasn’t cheap. But I just pulled out my credit card and handed it to him.

“So, what made you sell this ring to me after all of this time?” I asked, signing the receipt.

The old man looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “When you were telling me about Ellie, it reminded me a lot of how I felt about my Althea when we first met. I laid my eyes on her and I knew almost immediately. I did wait a week to ask her to marry me and then it took another month for her to agree. But once we got married, we were very happy for thirty-five glorious years. Until she passed away.”

My heart tightened up at the thought. It both went out to him for all the pain that he went through and for myself, at the thought of losing Ellie.

“I’m so sorry about your loss,” I whispered.

“Life happens,” the old man shrugged. “But no matter how much it hurts now, I know that we were very happy when we were together and that nothing can take that away.”

The old man packed the ring into a velvet ring box and handed it to me.

“Thank you very much,” I said, and turned to leave.

“Oh, young man,” he said, stopping me at the door. “Since you are now the owner of this very special ring, I thought you should know a little bit more about it.”

I nodded.

“It was designed by a man named Captain Ludlow in England in 1860, for his beloved fiancé. She was sick with tuberculosis, and unfortunately it wasn’t finished before she passed away. After her death, Captain Ludlow took the ring with him as he sailed around the world. It had been with him in South Africa, Argentina, Tahiti, China, San Francisco, and all around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

Captain Ludlow never married again, but instead held onto the ring as if it were his beloved’s heart. He had it in his pocket when his ship went down off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico and he was rescued after surviving three long days and nights alone at sea, on a piece of wood. He had it when he was attacked by pirates off the coast of Algeria. Captain Ludlow continued to sail well into his eighties and he came to believe that the ring protected him from the many dangers he encountered.

He finally died from pneumonia doing what he loved best, sailing around the South Pacific. On his deathbed, he bequeathed the ring to his grand-niece, Ms. Elizabeth Ludlow, who later sold it to me and helped me to achieve my own dream. So, you see, Mr. Black, this is a very special ring. It will not only protect you in times of peril and turmoil, but also give you hope when all feels lost. I hope you treat it well.”