III. The Impact of Her
~ Twenty-Five ~

We instantly returned to our true form as our feet settled on the soft grass.

I looked around us and there was nothing but the light from the moon above us. The moon has been abundant with her light tonight and I was grateful for that. As I finished admiring the moon’s beauty, I realised that Laura was still gripping onto me.

“Laura?” I looked to her to check on her. Her grip on my clothes was too tight to pull away. She hid her face onto my chest as her eyes remained closed. “Laura, you can open your eyes now. We’re here,” I whispered.

Her shoulders relaxed as she slowly opened her eyes. Her grip on me loosened. Her eyes shifted from scared to amazed. She took a few steps forward and looked around. “Is this real?” she asked whilst I prepared the picnic. “Are we really here?”

I let out a chuckle. “I don’t understand why you can’t believe what you’re already seeing,” I said as I spread the blanket onto the grass and settled the food on it next.

She then turned and sat across from me. “How were you able to get us here?

Amused, I chortled. “Laura, have you forgotten that you’re with me?” I faced her. “Must I remind you that you’re with an Immortal? A Wind Immortal, to be exact?” I winked, which made her giggle. “When it comes to sudden transportation, you’ll have no problem with that,” I continued preparing the picnic.

She moved closer and replied, “But you never used that with me before.”

I sighed, finishing all needed preparations. “Laura,” I lifted my face to meet hers, “We can do two things here tonight. Either we discuss my power of transportation or we can enjoy the lovely night sky above us. What would it be?”

She stayed quiet to think. She then shrugged and replied, “Very well. I’ll stop asking about it. For now.”

I smiled. I then removed the cover of the pie. “Shall we?”

Almost an hour had passed and we finally finished every food that I brought. I put everything back in the basket whilst she looked up to the stars. As I covered the basket with the blanket, I turned and found Laura admiring the night sky.

I walked towards her. “What’s on your mind?” I asked, sitting beside her.

“Just… random things,” she smiled as her gaze never left the stars and the moon.

I gently grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She turned to me and I said, “Tell me.”

“Well, as a child, I used to believe in fairy tales and surreal moments such as this. And as I grew older, people discouraged that kind of belief. They will often tell me that it can only happen in books,” she started. She put her other hand on top of mine and continued, “But now, being with you under the night sky, I still can’t believe it.” She smiled as she looked at me, “I didn’t expect that I would be able to experience this. Such a scene that can only be found in books and myths.”

I pulled her to an embrace and held her tightly as if it would be the last time to hold her. “Do you believe that this is real? That this isn’t some kind of dream that I made for you to see?”

She buried her face onto my neck before she replied, “How can I not believe it when my heart tells me that everything is true?” She then looked up to me and greeted me with a smile.

I then kissed her forehead, allowing my lips to stay a bit longer. “I love you… with all my heart,” I whispered.

I felt her smile on my chest. “I love you more than you know.”

Kissing her hand, I replied, “I love you most.”

To finally hear those words from her, for us to profess our love for one another was what I’ve hoped for the longest time. And truth be told, I never expected much when I met Laura. I only knew one thing from the moment we met: she would be one of the people I treasured the most. And nothing in this life or the next could stop me from being with her. As my arms tightened around her, it added even more confirmation. This lovely mortal would be the rare treasure I would protect until my very last breath.

We then looked up and marvelled at the beauty of the night sky. Tonight was the beginning of something new for us… as one.

We decided to lay down after a few minutes.

Her head laid on my chest with my hand on her hair. We didn’t talk after we admitted our love for each other. We just held each other and stared at the moon and stars.

Laura finally broke the silence as she said, “Thank you.”

I looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “For what?”

“You saved me.”

My brows knitted together. “Saved you?”

“You saved me from the colourless life I was in. If it weren’t for you, my life would’ve continued as meaningless. You broke the chains that held me back from moving forward. And I’m grateful for that,” she explained.

“Come here,” I tapped on my arm.

Slowly, she moved up and laid down on my arm. I turned my body towards her. I reached out to her face and held her cheek. “It wasn’t just you who was saved. But I was saved by you as well,” I caressed her cheek as I replied. “And you have been the most wonderful thing that’s happened in my life.”

I was awakened when the gentle rays of the sun hit my closed eyes.

I squinted as I opened my eyes. The sun was slowly rising out of its resting place. I looked to my left and there she was, sound asleep. Her head still rested on my arms. She kept herself close to me with her arm wrapped around my torso.

I faced her entirely. A grin slowly crept on my face as I admired her beauty. Everything about her, I took in slowly. The peaceful look embedded on her face. Her calm breathing, secured within my reach. She then moved closer to me, which made my heart skip a beat.

‘How lucky was I to be able to have someone like her?’ I thought to myself.

I met all the eligible ladies, both in our court and other kingdoms. And yet, none of them came close to what I had with Laura. Her beauty wasn’t based on hollow titles, physical traits or mounted riches behind a powerful name. Her simpleness has given her an exquisite kind of beauty. It has set her apart from most of the women I’ve seen throughout my life.

It was uncertain if the ancient gods planned our meeting. But if they did, I was truly grateful for having such an angel. I truly believed I was the one who was saved. She pulled me out of my miserable life. She gave me the strength to carry on during my worst moments. Though we lived in different worlds, she never felt far from me.

My thoughts were then interrupted when she groaned and stretched. Her eyes slowly opened. As soon as her emerald gaze landed on me, she smiled. “Good morning,” she greeted, closing her eyes from the sun.

I gave a light peck on her nose. “Good morning.”

When her eyes adjusted, she sat up and looked around. “I think we enjoyed our midnight picnic a bit too much,” she giggled as she turned back to me.

I sat up and leaned in to her, our noses touched. “I don’t mind it all,” I returned a smile. I stood up and helped her get up. I put my arms around her, pulling her closer as we watched the sun awaken the world.

“I shared the sunset and night sky with you,” I laid my head on top of hers, rubbing her arm to keep her warm. “And now,” I removed my head and lifted her face, making her meet my gaze, “I’m sharing the sunrise with you. I already shared so many yesterdays with you, Laura. Starting today, I want to look forward to the future with you by my side.”

She reached out and touched my face. Her thumb caressed my cheek as she smiled, “And I would gladly accompany you with your new beginnings.”

After I laid another peck on her forehead, we turned back to the sunrise. Our hold on one another grew tighter at every second, like there was no tomorrow for the both of us.

A crowd already swarmed the bakery when we got back. Customers lined up from the inside to the very door, probably waiting for their morning bread and pastries. As we approached the entrance, Grandpa Ben appeared with a stern look on his face.

“Good morning,” he greeted as his hands rested on top of his cane.