The Proposal

The proposal was intimate yet public, clever yet romantic, spontaneous yet well-planned. It blew my mind away, for the lack of better word.

David flew to the little red dot to have a belated celebration for my birthday (such a nice cover-up, eh?). By the way, it was his last visit during our 2 years and 3 months long distance relationship – 385 miles, no less!

The proposal took place on one beautiful Sunday evening at the beach. I thought I spotted the slightest apprehension in his face when we walked past a crowded beach party, but it was gone as he walked me calmly to the other, quieter side of the beach. Now, the proposal involved a box with multiple layers of scrapbook-like contents in it, which we call scrapbox.

As I opened it, I saw patience, thoughtfulness, hard-work, creativity, and above all, love, springing out from every corner and every detail of that masterpiece of his. I felt loved. Abundantly. And as we went through each layer of those colourful cardboards filled with heart-warming moments and milestones of our journey, I was forever grateful that our paths collided.  Still, I was clueless about the proposal at that time. One of the first top layers clearly read ‘happy b’day’.

The design of the scrapbox took advantage of blind spot to incorporate the element of surprise. It was no-brainer, but somehow I found it really smart, ha! When I reached the last layer, I was asked to turn the box 180 degrees. That was it: rustic, shaven wood strips meticulously put together that read ‘will you marry me’. Have you ever felt something so strong that took you by such surprise that you needed to pause a while to actually process what you were feeling and how you would react? I certainly have. In a few tens of a second, I took in every single detail of that unforgettable moment. It was sunset, a magical one. Muffled music from a distant, the sound of the waves hitting the shore, the smell of the sea, the sand beneath our feet, the mild breeze against our skin.

Then, he found the ring amongst those colourful tiny little foam cubes at the base of the box. And just like that, he knelt down on one knee, took me by the hand, and looked deep into my misty eyes. He said a couple of lines that meant the world to me. And for the whole time, I swear it felt like as if the time stood still. Let me tell you that those love songs don’t lie. Everything else in the corner of my eyes were blurry, but the man. It was like they existed but didn’t matter. Then, he popped the question. My heart, oh, my heart, melted into a mushy puddle of love. My heart beat fast and my lips trembled, but he told me later on that I managed a complete and firm ‘yes, I will’. I was overjoyed. I felt entirely happy that I thought it’d be impossible to feel any happier. I was humbled and made proud by the same man whom I now call fiancé.

We hugged for the longest time and sat on the beach till the sun was gone.

We didn’t take any photos right after the proposal, but here’s one before.

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us fairytale. Indeed.

DAVIDANGITA