The Engagement

I remember the first day I met you. You looked at him with glittering eyes and a smile that was so very enchanting.

The distance between you and him was less than a foot. It looked as if you two were so close to kissing one another, but the two of you were holding back in such a gentle manner. At first, he looked nervous looking at you, but when he saw you smile, he couldn’t help but smile back.

I completely understood why he couldn’t hold back his smile. And you said the words he patiently and nervously waited for.

“Yes.” A soft whisper from your pink lips. “Yes. Yes, Damian. I would love to marry you.” You reiterate, the softness of your words and gaze oddly suffocating for me. It seemed your heart was going to burst from happiness. And oddly enough, I was afraid.

You gazed at me with those gentle violet eyes as you felt the coolness of the metal on your ring finger. You were so ecstatic, so happy that one day you will be called his wife. I could see it in your eyes. The smile not fading even once. You look at him, violet eyes meeting green. Under the sun, it felt as though the sunlight had turned and settled around you two like glittering orbs.

The two of you were a couple that was blinding.

That was the kind of effect you two had towards one another. And, as it was my first time seeing such a thing, it was quite honestly breath-taking.

Your fingers holding his jawline as if you were afraid to put too much force on him. His fingers at the base of your back as he pulled you into his embrace. The smiles you two gave did not waver one bit as the distance between your lips closed.

The kiss looked quite soft and I assume it resonated the kind of love you two shared. It was pure and gentle and yet, so very firm.

So, you probably wouldn’t understand how confuse and hurt I felt when your love turned stale. When the arguments came more often and it started to get louder. This was probably why I was afraid for you. But that fear wasn’t just for you, it was also for him and maybe, just a little bit, for me.

“Raven…” He would call out to you, and you would turn your back towards him. And you would stand there unmoving in his living room.

I had forgotten that I had felt fear the first time I met you Raven. Because I think I had settled into the thought of you two being a happy couple. I had seen it myself, the kind of connection you two had. It was special. But now looking back, I probably should have been more mindful.

Now looking back, I wish you had changed your answer. Then maybe things would be different.

“Damian, just please tell me if I did something wrong.” You beg him. You miss the look on his face because your back was facing him. And I could tell that he was hurt. It was raw and it was clear, he was aching so much.

“You did nothing wrong, beloved.” He whispers to you as he embraces you from behind. I did not understand why you two would become like this. I still recall so vividly how you two were after you said ‘Yes’.

“Then why is it that we are no longer the same?” You wept onto your hands and he buried his face on your shoulder. “Why is it that I can feel you have changed. You’ve become colder.”

I would like to know so too. I listened so patiently for a response, and maybe perhaps, a conclusion to all these arguments. I still had hoped that you two would fix this. I waited and I waited, but I heard nothing.

And then one day, I heard you tell him. “Maybe it’s better if we call it off.”

He looked so heart-broken when you said that, mirroring the exact same expression you had on your face.

I did not understand.

I could not understand.

It clearly hurt for both of you, so why did you say that Raven? And since it hurt, didn’t that mean you two still love each other? So please make me understand.

Why are you two like this?

“You’re not serious right?” He asks, his voice was barely audible as it broke within the walls of the living room. I found it ironic that it was called the living room, and these past few days it seemed that you both were not even alive—not living. His knees were shaking as he looked like he wanted to let his knees give in at what you had just said. And you refused to look at him. You gripped your arm so tightly whilst avoiding his gaze.

I wish you knew that it hurt me too.

It’s clear to me that you two still love one another. Why can’t the two of you see it? I wanted to intervene so badly and just make you two see clearly, that you two still love each other, like that day I met you.

But, how could I? Even though, I wanted you both to be happy together, I knew that this was necessary. At least I felt that this was something that would do you two good. Or maybe in the very least I hoped this would do you two good and that you will still find your way to one another.

“We are just not in the same place anymore.” She says. And all I can really do was hope.

Hope for the better for you and him. And I would often recall the happiness you two shared when you said ‘Yes’.

Every waking moment when you two were near each other, could rival the intensity of the Sun. There was no such thing as sadness and frowns when you see one another. There was always an uplifting aura when you two are together. And it also felt like there was a crackling of lightning in the space, because your connection was undeniable and couldn’t be restrained.

Both your hands kept finding one another as if one could not breath if the other wasn’t skin close. And when you two haven’t seen each other for even just an hour, and you find yourselves beside one another, it was like giving water to a man who was left in a desert for days.

Looking back at that kind of relationship you two had. It made my confusion on the current matter lessen. You two were a couple that was blinding after all—that it hurt. But I still had hope that you and him would still get married. Because if you don’t, I don’t know what I would feel or should feel at this point.

“We can work this out.” He tells you firmly, but I could tell that he was losing hope. And I continued to wait.

“I really didn’t do anything wrong.” He told you. Your back this time is still turned away from him. By your feet were two duffle bags.

“Then why does it feel like you no longer love me.” You couldn’t help but say in such a weak whisper, my heart ached and his must have too. But now the table has turned, I believe him.

You see, the other day he had came to me. He looked reluctant, but he approached me. And I thought that you two had forgotten about me. And I know I have heard you two say you will try and work it out multiple times already, but one of you finally came back to me.

And I was so happy.

He told me what was really in his mind.

“I love her, that hasn’t changed.” He says reaching out to hold me, but instead he found himself kneeling before me and wept. Not even touching me. “It’s me who has changed. I’m scared she won’t like what she sees anymore.”

And that was it. That was what has changed, that was what you kept asking about Raven.

And I wanted to tell him that you two have already reached a point where your relationship will shatter before the marriage. So, why do you continue to be afraid. Tell her now, before it is too late.

You should tell her.

But you kept your mouth shut. And you let her walk away. And I see how painful it was for you to let her go. And I felt—angry.

You would pace around your apartment and would come back less often until eventually you just never came. And she never came back. And my world became so dark.

I was just something anyone could forget, so it seemed. Despite your relationship turning out this way, I will remain sparkling in contrast to the dark turn of your love. Left at the spot where you left me on the first night that you accused him of changing. I will remain sturdy and clear as a diamond should, wishing that that was how your love should have been.

I would recall being apart of the happiness you two shared before all of this, to try and forget the loneliness in the present. I would hope that somehow you two will still gravitate towards each other. I would hope to be worn again on your finger as you walk down the aisle. I would hope that I could see again that scene when I first met you. When he gave me to you.

And while I wait on the same spot where you left me Raven, my sparkle will not fade.

I did not know how many days passed, but one day the door to his apartment was opened. And I was extremely excited. And you walked in Raven. You looked serene. And you approached me, and I was so happy.

You picked me up with a faint smile. I thought you had forgotten me. And you slipped me back on your ring finger. And I felt so elated. There were footsteps behind you and you turned around.

And it felt as though I had gone back into time. This was what I was waiting for. You gaze at Damian the way you did the first time I met you, and he mirrored you to perfection. The connection and love between you two were strong, and both your feet gravitate towards one another.

It really was like I had gone back in time.

Finally. You two have returned.

I recall when I first met him. He looked so anxious, so very nervous.

In front of him laid many, many different kinds of rings. When his green eyes met a certain ring, the anxiety slowly shimmered down. And I knew then, he had found the right ring. And to my surprised it was me.

When the lady asked about the woman you planned to give me to, I remember with great fondness how your nervousness completely dissipated. You described her so beautifully that I was so excited to finally meet her, your Raven.

You said I was perfect, for the most perfect woman you had the opportunity of meeting.

She stood in front of you near the entrance door of your apartment. And she wraps her arms around your neck. And I saw clearly, the same look you had when you described to the sales lady about your future wife, the same look when she said ‘Yes’.

The first time I met either of you, you both had the same expression on your faces.

Finally, you two have returned.

(FIN)

 Author’s Note:

I’ve been wanting to write this since July, it was something different for me. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I would love some feedback!

Did anyone expect that it would be an object’s POV?