Engaged

"I walked across an empty land,
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand..."

We walked, hand-in-hand, down this familiar path.  Only months ago, we'd walked this way for the first time.  Together.

We had been nervous, and the day had been filled with silence, and giggles, and cheeks burning bright red.  Today would not be much different.  But today I knew him, inside and out, and today I was comfortable with my hand in his.

"I felt the earth beneath my feet..."

Pieces of mulch crept into my shoes.  When he told me to get dressed this morning, he failed to mention where our adventure might lead, and sandals were not a wise choice for a walking trail.  With relief, we sat on the wooden bridge that crossed the babbling creek.

"Sat by the river and it made me complete."

I brushed off my feet and dangled them off the edge, smiling into those brown eyes that were mine now.  This was our place.  In the middle of thickets of pine trees, the sun managed to peek through and hit exactly this spot.  Months ago, the heat had been welcome, but now it was stifling.  He leaned in for a kiss, almost an exact replication of our first one. 
Same bridge.  Same water.  Same trees.  Same butterflies.
I could never keep from smiling when he kissed me, and some things never change.

We sat silently for a while, just taking in the warm day and the cool water.  I watched it wash over the smooth, brown rocks.  The water was shallow and clear, and the sun reflecting off of it made me look away.  As I turned, I showed him the Queen Anne's Lace I picked from the bank.  It reminded me of the pattern on a wedding dress.  And as I was about to tell him so, I glanced up to find his eyes.  Instead, I found something gleaming and blinding.

Before I understood, I heard his honeyed voice.  Would I make him the happiest man in the world?  Would I be his wife?

The ring was on my finger and tears were in my eyes.

Yes.
YES.

The Queen Anne's Lace floated down the creek as my fingers laced around the back of his head and I pulled his lips to mine.

This was our place of beginnings.

"So why don't we go somewhere only we know?"

("Somewhere Only We Know," by Keane)