Picture Perfect Proposal

I had woken up at 4 in the morning to catch this train. This train, as usual, was late. Four hours late. FOUR hours. 

I spent the first few hours of that day, on a cold misty platform, in my formal clothes, cursing the entire railway system, and channeling all my ‘inner powers’ to convert my measly, no-good-for-early-morning-winter-weather shawl into a blanket. Yeah! This was the perfect start for the ‘most important day in my life yet’.

Thankfully, His Majesty, the almighty Train God, decided to grace us with his presence at 9, and I was on my way to complete the quest. Oh, I am sorry, amidst my rant, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Thia, short for Thiam, and was crossing all the 7 oceans, (Metaphorically! Geez! The train ride was only 3 hours long!) to be reunited with and surprise the love of my life with, possibly, the greatest gift of all time.

My partner, Aza, who also happened to be the person of my dreams, had been living and working in another city, alone. Even though ‘advanced technology’ had made communication very easy, and I saw that face practically every day, I was very worried about physically meeting Aza, today. Nah! It’s not the first time we were meeting. But, it would be the first time, and hopefully the only time, I would have to ask anyone for their hand in marriage.

This day was going to be huge for both of us. We had discussed marriage for a while now, and we both felt we were finally ready. My efforts would just make our plans rock solid, and official. What I had planned was to reach Aza’s residence by 9 in the morning, and then to spend the whole day on the beach where we had first met, and propose just as we were passing by our favourite spot. Don’t worry, I had already organised for a friend to be present, along with an expert photographer, to capture our special moments, which would be followed by a celebration with both of our supportive families around. I had picked out the perfect engagement ring.

 I had really hoped everything would work out, but it was now spoiled. Aza left for work (where I had already called, explained the situation, and asked Aza to be granted a leave) at 9. I can’t believe it. The train’s inability to follow its schedule would cost us a ‘messed-up’ perfect day.

I spent the three-hour train journey in distress, jumped out of the carriage the moment the train drew up on the platform, and sprinted towards Aza’s apartment. Aza’s empty apartment to be precise. I was late. Four hours late.  

I made a dash for Aza’s workplace, and sure enough, the love of my life was there, as large as life. Thankfully, Aza's colleagues, who were already aware of my crazy plans, were a great help. On a mere text message from my side, they managed to get Aza ‘out of work’, and arranged for me to ‘bumped’ into them.

Situation was less than ideal. I looked like a wreck, was huffing, and had randomly whisked Aza away to ‘someplace special’. The day was not going as I had planned. I didn’t know whether the photographer would still be there. The ‘celebration’ afterwards would be an organised chaos. But the one thing that didn’t worry me, but in hindsight should have, was the prospect of Aza rejecting my proposal.

I pulled a ‘happy to see me’ Aza to the beach, blocking out all the other thoughts from my head. We approached the ‘favourite spot’, a rock draped in sea moss, and just as I was about to propose, Aza, with a dead serious expression, said, “Damn. This is exactly the place I would have proposed to you, but I don’t have a ring on me.” I burst out laughing, and took out our engagement ring. The moment was perfect, and will forever be saved in my mind. Aza’s expression of amusement changing into one filled with love and emotion, was my sole answer. The scenic place was the perfect backdrop for our perfect story. (Did I really use these many ‘perfects’ in this paragraph? Perfect!) I was down on my knees, looking straight into Aza’s eyes, when we heard the camera shutters go off. Wow. Everything actually worked.

We always wanted to be surrounded by our families after this moment, and that’s what I had wanted to arrange, but I had ran out of time. Even though the families were in town, I hadn’t really arranged a dinner, or a place to celebrate in. I was just about to reveal this problem to Aza, when we heard a shout from a nearby eatery. It was Aza’s brotherb beckoning us over, with Aza's mother shedding a tear of joy, standing nearby. Both our families were present in the hall, with a table of delicious food behind them.

Even though my plan had gone out of the window, the day was still ‘perfect.’

God, if I could, I would relive this day, every day.