Fifteen Minute Reads Vol. 1

Infinite

He presented her with a stack of National Geographic magazines.

She blinked. "Are those... mine?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. I kinda borrowed them for a bit. Sorry I didn't tell you."

She wasn't sure how to react to that, so she quietly took the magazines from his hands. And even without consciously thinking about it, she started checking for signs of wear and tear.

He looked on, visibly nervous.

When she reached the middle, she stopped. It was a very old issue, but one that she really liked – because of the cover, which was a gorgeous shot of the stars that lay waiting in space, infinite and inviting.

But she mostly stopped because the magazine felt wrong. Like it had been tampered with. Her instincts kicked in and she flipped through the pages frantically, wondering what it was that bothered her so.

Then her breath got caught in her throat and she just stood there, frozen.

It was a bookmark. He'd attached a piece of string as a bookmark on the first page of the story about the stars.

And the end of the string was tied to a ring.

When she dared to look away from the magazine, he was on his knees in front of her.

"My love for you is as infinite as the stars. Will you marry me?"