The Invitation

"We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin."

The mountains all around us beautifully wrapped in a blanket of snow. The sun was beginning to set.

We had been driving all day.

This weekend had to be perfect.

I promised myself if I ever got a second chance, I would make everything right again.

*****

As we pulled up to the cabin, it began to lightly snow again.

I stopped the car slowly, taking it all in.

My passenger, reaching for her camera, her eyes lighting up at the beauty all around us.

The snow falling in the distance creating a foggy effect over the valley below. The sunset turning deep red and orange in the cold December sky, then fading into bright pink as it dipped behind the mountain peaks.

Excitedly, Gia took off her seatbelt and put on her leather gloves.

She turned to me.

Smiled, and ever so gently tapped my hand with her gloved fingertips.

"It's so magical!" she exclaimed. Then reaching for the door handle.

This was it.

This is the moment I lived for. The moment I fought for. The moment I always hoped for.

Seeing her happy was everything. She could light up the whole room with her presence. I smiled back at her. We both exited the car. I didn't want to miss a single moment.

*****

We watched the magical sunset and Gia took tons of photos.

She loved sunsets and photography. She loved the sky in general. Watching her in her element was a whole experience in itself.

It was starting to get dark now.

We returned to the car and grabbed our bags.

The lights on the exterior of the property came on automatically as it grew dark. That was one of the reasons I selected this particular cabin.

That and the fact that the owner also offered a B&B type combo of sorts. I was able to also include my own idea, with a special touch.

Like I said, this weekend had to be perfect.

Gia walked next to me. Our footsteps crunching forward in the snow.

She talked excitedly about the shots she had captured.

I can't believe I ever let her walk away.

How would I have lived without experiencing this moment?

I just smiled. She was so animated when she spoke, especially about things she loved.

I felt nervous now... I had long anticipated this moment. I couldn't wait to see her reaction to the surprise I had planned. I was more excited than nervous. I felt like everything was riding on this very important point in time.

She was important.

After all these years, it was finally time that I let her know how much she has always meant to me. I mean, the universe didn't send me a second chance for nothing. If ever I was certain about anything, I was certain about that.

*****

Moments later, we were walking through the doorway. I opened the door and let her walk in first.

It was quite dark in the cabin.

Gia reached to the right and flicked on the light switch.

When the lights came on, they did it one, by one, by one, all around the room. Just like dominos, in a dancing effect, they bounced to life as if one ignited the other. These were the coolest LED candles I could find. I wanted to give the effect of candles lighting the path. This turned out even more beautiful than I had imagined.

"Wow," Gia said softly, "It's perfect."

I knew she meant it.

I hoped that I would get it just perfect. I had combed my mind for the memories of her that had gotten me through my darkest times. And it was those same moments, that held a candle in the dark.

I realized, I had held onto them... I had clung to them... because there was part of her in them. She always infused energy into her interactions. Even when she didn't try to. It was that energy that had lingered at a time when I had tried desperately to forget her.

And often in those moments, it was her memory that led me through the dark.

Brought me back to life.

If she ever wrote a story about me, I'd want her to tell it this way. This is how I would want our next chapter to be.

Once I figured that part out, I knew exactly how to make it as "perfect" as possible.

*****

Gia loved it!

I followed her around the house as the candles lit the path.

She didn't know it yet, but I'd follow her to the ends of the earth, if she wanted.

The candles were almost like a tour guide. What a nice bonus effect I had not anticipated.

One by one.. Lighting up the room as we entered.

It felt like the house was inviting us in.

Gia had flipped on her camera almost immediately... she was recording the whole thing as it unfolded.

I hadn't anticipated that part either, another surprise for me.

She kept the memories too...

That's how we stayed connected. She had kept them too. I couldn't be more happy in this moment. I knew she wanted to keep this one forever.

*****

Now for the part that I really didn't anticipate...

I mean, it wasn't part of the plan, my plan anyways...

*****

We had arrived to the end of the candle lit path.

The natural spot for the candle finale, in my mind anyways; had to be in the living room near the fireplace.

Once we arrived back in the living room, after our candle guided tour, I lit the "real" candles on the mantle.

Gia still recording our adventure.

I really love this girl.

She just doesn't know it yet.

After I finished lighting all the candles, I lit a fire in the fireplace. To both keep us nice and cozy, but also as a main part of the ambiance.

Yes, I paid attention.

I listened to all the times she got excited about something. Or the times that she was so passionately angry at me, but didn't say a word.

I heard her when she walked away.

That sound echoed in my mind. It haunted me. It tortured me...

It fueled me forward.

It saved my life.

I finished with the fire and stood.

Gia stopped recording now.

She was smiling like an angel. I think she was trying not to cry.

"I love it," she said softly, "It's the most beautiful way I could have written it," she paused, "it's even better."

She hugged me now. So tightly. The embrace that I dreamed of when I missed her most.

Her arms felt like home.

I didn't want her to ever let go.

Well, she did at some point, and when she did, she discovered this piece of paper tucked under a book on the coffee table.

She loves books. She loves characters and telling their stories.

She's pretty good at it too.

Well, in one of her moments of curiosity, she looked down at the antique coffee table behind us. There was only one book in the center, lying as if placed haphazardly. Everything else sitting neatly in it's place. How had she spotted it I am not certain. Maybe, she simply just reached for it because it is a book, and she was curious about the book itself. Maybe she had analyzed the scene as I had just done. Maybe she felt drawn to it. Maybe she just "knew", like she says, 'There are some things that you just "know", and those moments are magic.'

So what happened next?

Gia reached down and retrieved the piece of paper from it's position, slightly peaking out from under the book.

Well, the letter wasn't from me, though she thought it was at first.

Why hadn't I thought of writing her a letter? That would have been the ultimate way to seal the deal. By that I mean, win her heart, the way that she had won mine. And it would have made the most epic story!

So back to the letter. Yes, it was a letter. The piece of paper in her hand, turned out to be an envelope. In most stories, this is how mysteries began. Or in my experience suspenseful thrillers. I was a bit apprehensive about opening the envelope, all things considered.

Not Gia!

She was all about it, even after I told her it was honestly not from me.

Her eyes lit up. That magical way they did when something peaked her interest.

The way she had looked at me, the first time our eyes met.

And every time they met thereafter, I guess that's how I "knew'.

So, I just knew in this moment that she wanted to open that envelope. And to be perfectly honest, I wanted that too. Somehow, I knew that anything that letter contained, and anything that life threw at us, we could take on together. And we could be victorious, together, in any situation. I knew she was the one I'd want by my side in any adventure.

And when she looked at me, I knew that she wanted that too.

It was addressed to both of us.

So, we read it together, me reading silently over her shoulder as she also read silently, taking in the information.

Dear Ambrose and Gia,

Congratulations!

Welcome to level 10.

Individually, each of you has passed your initiation. We commend you on your efforts, and a job well done.

This is the level that requires a partner to complete the remainder of the "missions".

That is...

If you wish to accept our invitation.

We will be in touch,

The Time Traveler's Guild

*****

Gia looked at me.

I looked at her.

She had that twinkle in her eye.

Did we accept the invitation?

Well, you will have to tune in for the next part of the story.

But in this moment...

It was as if every single part of my body was being drawn to her.

Her eyes, her soul, they called to me, and I wanted nothing more than to fully embrace this moment.

I wanted to melt into her energy... as the candles did, so beautifully over the fireplace.

So I kissed her.

I think that was the moment that truly saved me.

I had longed to feel her embrace again.

I had hoped to see the way her eyes would light up.

I had pictured her beautiful face, many, many times in my daydreams.

But that kiss, it was something I had yet to experience, and it was pure bliss.

Paradise.

I think that was the thing that pulled me through the dark.

The possibility of her, the possibility of us, walking together in the dark. Hand in hand. Defeating the darkness.

And making magic.

This was the moment I fought for.