The End of the world

The Proposal

So, Leila and I have been spending a lot of time together since the time I confronted my sister that I liked her best friend and since then my sister has left no chance to tease me or make googly eyes at me whenever I'm talking to Leila in college or otherwise when we all are together. We were nearing the end of the semester and before we go on vacation I wanted to tell Leila about my feelings for her, I'm sure she already had a clue because of the way I look at her or the way I still get nervous around her, but I had to tell her how I feel and make it official so that no one takes her away from me.

I had planned a surprise date for Leila and had to take little help from my sister to plan this surprise. We were at the beach and making arrangements, I had planned a little picnic for Leila, we looked for a quiet corner on the beach away from people, the picnic basket, bottle of wine, flowers, chocolates were all ready I made sure to ask my sister to bring Leila after sunset so that the candles that I plan to light are visible and not overshadowed by the sunlight. I spent a lot of time to make the arrangements; I had to make sure everything was perfect for my perfect Leila.

My sister told Leila that all three of us were planning to watch the full moon and high tides tonight at the beach. Leila thought it was a great idea and so she had no clue as to what was being planned; I can't wait to see her reaction. It was almost 7 and I was eagerly waiting for them to arrive any minute now, the sun was about to set and the waves were smooth, I was admiring the sea and the waves when I heard a soft chuckle, I immediately recognized this laughter, it was none other than my Leila, I could see her and my sister laughing and slowly approaching the place where I was sitting, Leila looked at me, then immediately turned to my sister who smiled and winked at her then turned around and left the two of us just staring at each other. I picked up the bouquet of flowers and slowly got up, I was now standing just opposite Leila who was looking at me with surprise, curiosity, eagerness to know what was happening, I bent down on one knee and looked at Leila in the eyes, I gave her the flowers and said, "Leila, ever since I saw you I have been dreaming of being able to do this, I have been wanting to give flowers, look into your ocean blue eyes and just being lost in them. I have never been drawn to someone the way I feel drawn to you, I have liked girls before but I have never felt what I feel for you, it's different, it's much more intense and it's not just an infatuation, maybe this is what love feels like, I don't know what you feel for me but I assure you that if you say no I will be heartbroken but I will still wish the best for you always, my feelings for y... mhhh....." I could not complete what I was saying and was attacked by soft lips, I was mesmerized by the softness of her lips and was taken to another world, I couldn't believe this was happening. The girl of my dreams was kissing me. I was out from the trance that her kiss left me in when Leila spoke, "well it's about time, I have been waiting for you to open up to me for quite some time now, you take a hell of a lot of time to approach someone", she said laughing softly, she looked at me smiling and I kissed her back this time taking the lead.

We were lying at the beach, enjoying the full moon view and looking at the stars holding hands when I slightly turned towards her, the moonlight falling on her perfect face making her look even more perfect, I couldn't believe that Leila felt the same for me. "Leila, did you always know I had feelings for you?" I asked out of curiosity. She turned towards me and leaned on her shoulder, I could sense she was trying to form words in her mind, "well", she started off.."I always kind of knew you fancied me from your behavior and from your glances, but I had no idea that you loved me so when you said you loved me I was taken aback; it feels good to be loved by someone" she stopped midway, then started off, "especially if you feel the same way about them"., she said that and hid her face, she was blushing, that was the cutest thing ever, for a split second I couldn't register that Leila just confessed that she loved me back, "what! You love me too?" I was now suddenly up on my feet and looking at Leila, do you really love me, Leila?" I asked her again because I couldn't believe my ears. She blushed and said, "yes, I love you too!"

The date couldn't be better, Leila and I spent a lot of time just ogling at each other and she really enjoyed eating my ham sandwiches which I promised to make regularly for her provided she makes me her famous apple pie which my sister keeps bragging about. I was dropping Leila home, she had her head on my shoulder and held my hand, and placed both our entwined hands on her lap. She was playing with my fingers. I had never felt so content in my life, I had my dream girl by my side, moreover, she loved me back. 

Once home, Leila looked at me with fear in her eyes, she hesitated a bit but glanced at me again, and from her looks, I knew she's trying to gain the courage to tell me something important, "I need to tell you something before we move ahead in our relationship and before things get serious between us!" I looked at her worried, my heart started beating fast and I mentally prepared myself for the worst.

Getting nervous and looking down, she started ... "I have a heart condition",  she almost whispered, I could hardly make out her words, she started off again, this time a bit louder so that I could hear her properly "when I was just five years old I developed severe anxiety problems and faced frequent panic attacks, on getting checked I was told that I have a weak heart and I will not be able to lead a normal life if I don't get surgery, my parents got very scared and after talking to a lot of doctors and going through many tests we agreed on the surgery and fortunately it was a success but the doctors warned me that my heart problem may reoccur anytime with exposure to extreme pressure or any kind of stress, I have been taking regular medicines and practicing meditation to keep my stress levels under control and to keep my heart healthy and my doctor has advised me to keep taking my medicines to avoid any future mishap". 

I have never been in a serious relationship so I never felt the need to bring out my condition in front of people, but before we start our journey together I wanted you to know this, saying this she looked down with a sad expression, I told you all this so that you can walk away if you want, there's still time and no hearts will be broken, neither your's nor mine. 

Hearing her say all this I let out a sigh, a sigh of relief, I let out the air I was holding in for so long, "that's it? oh my, for a second there you almost gave me a mini heart attack, I was thinking about the worst possible scenarios inside my head, I thought maybe you changed your mind or suddenly you regret saying yes to me, oh my Leila how can you be so gullible", I looked at Leila with love and admiration, I forced her to look me in the eye with my finger below her chin, and she hesitated at first but then finally looked at me. She had tears in her eyes, I took her in my arms and told her that the only thing that mattered to me right now is that she's mine and there's nothing in the world that can change that, all the other difficulties in life are things that we will deal with together. "Life will be full of ups and downs Leila, maybe in the future something might happen to me, would you leave me then?" I asked her and she moved her head from side to side gesturing a no. "I'm so glad you shared your condition with me but please remember this Leila, when I say I love you, I mean it, I am ready to face life's challenges as long as you are by my side, whatever time we have together I will be happy as long as I get to spend that time with you". She smiled hearing this and feeling embarrassed hid her face in the crook of my neck, she held me tighter and then kissing me on the cheek ran towards her house, she stopped midway and turned back slightly and shouted, "I love you", and then she rushed inside.

Leila and I dated each other for 3 years and then finding the courage I proposed to her for marriage which she gladly accepted, all this while she was still taking her medicines and all was going well. Seeing improvements in her heart the doctor stopped her medicines and we went on living our lives without being worried about her condition until now. With the virus and the pandemic spreading her heart has once again been impacted and no medicine is working on improving her condition, the medicines she was taking before are not manufactured anymore and I fear that something might happen to her. Peter, I'm very scared, I know it's not authorized to use the machine as we are not 100% sure about its functioning but I need your help Peter, I need you to go back in time and get me her medicines. I need you to go back to the year 1935, take admission to the college where we were studying, get close to Leila and get details of her medicines and bring them back to the present time. Help us, Peter, I beg you.

Hearing Mr. Collins so desperate and helpless I could not help but agree to his request. If this is the only way to help Mrs. Collins then I am willing to take the risk and go back in time to look for the medicines. I nodded my head and told Mr. Collins not to worry. I told him I would go back in time and bring him the medicines.