The proposal

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"Do you love me?" She asked him as they walked languidly hand in hand to nowhere in particular.

"Yes, I do. Without an iota of doubt. With absolute clarity I do." He replied as he watched for her expression, but she gave away nothing.

She looked ahead without turning to him. Her stoic expression was only an external one. Her mind was bouncing with joy. She was delirious with joy but the fear that she always had about being open and then getting hurt prevented her from showing her mirth.

They stopped at a small piece of land that jutted out into the abyss below. The view was astounding. Verdant hills in the far off horizon looking blue and enigmatic with clouds passing by and a hazy mist in the front to give an aura of mysterious lands. She looked at the mountain tops and wondered how it would be to go live up there. Just her and maybe this new found love of hers. No one to bother them or no commitments to hold her back. The hermit like life was something she thought she would like.

He looked at her face directed towards the far of hills. Her mind was filled with thoughts, he could see. Her brows furrowed and her eyes twitching every now and then .He could see she was feeling intense things. He didn't want to distract her. He turned towards the view and saw a small streak of smoke from one of the houses in the valley below. It engendered in him thoughts of a warm village with its quaint little houses and streets. The warmth of the people around and the small little parlour where he would sit with his book besides a fireplace. A mellowed and social little life among the people of his village - this would be a life that suited him he thought.

She looked at him and seeing him lost in thought squeezed his hand a little tighter and he was back in her gazer, smiling.

"Shall we move on?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded. He would have liked to stay on but he reasoned that this road was filled with such breathtaking views and they would sooner or later reach up on another one.

As they walked he could see the mist from her breath as she exhaled. She saw him watching her and turned towards him with a look on her face that asked him what it was.

He shook his head, took her arm around his waist while he put his around her shoulders so that he could get closer. He whispered in her ear - " I have something to tell you."

He knew she would push him away. She had very sensitive ear lobes and it tickled her to just have his mouth near her ears. But she seemed to like the warmth in the cold weather. She looked up at him and looking into his eyes with all the gentleness in the world asked him what it was.

He stopped and turned to face her. He held her hands and looked at her intensely.

"This phase of my life with you has been the happiest so far. These are the memories that I want to cherish for the rest of my life. For the first time in my life I am without a doubt sure about something - you. Will you marry me?"

She looked at him with the same stoic expression on her face. The pause seemed like eternity to him. She smiled for the first time that day, a sparkling gleam in her eyes and said "Yes".

He smiled, kissed her cheeks, took her hands and began walking again. She was again dancing with joy inside.

He went back to imagining life in the warm village with her and she went back imaging a life in the woods all by themselves, just her and him and the silent trees.

















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