TBATE: A Hero's Return

Absolute Mess

ARTHUR LEYWIN

My eyes flicked for the umteenth time to the clock on the wall. It had only been 2 minutes since the last time I had checked. Only about 6 minutes since the time before that.

Tess was always on-time, always punctual. I couldn't even remember the last time she was late.

That meant she would be walking through the front door in less than 5 minutes or so.

And I had been in a state of unbridled panic for the past hour or so.

I had spent all day working on an idea for how to propose to Tessia. Each and every idea I had was tossed out as not good enough. All of them were unworthy of someone as special to me as Tess was.

I thought about going overboard and simply decorating our room with candles everywhere. But that seemed too simple and not very memorable. Besides, the idea came from one of those plays Tess liked so much. She was gonna notice I had stolen the idea.

I thought about writing a poem or doing some form of romantic gesture like that, but my attempt came out very amateur:

Tessia Eralith, my fair elven princess,

With gunmetal gray hair and emerald eyes,

In your presence, my heart feels its crescendo,

I cannot help but to be mesmerized.

With every step you take, my love for you grows,

Like a flower blooming in the morning dew,

I cannot imagine my life without you,

Tessia Eralith, my heart belongs to you.

I have wandered through the forest,

And climbed the highest mountain,

But nothing compares to the beauty,

That I see in you, my love, my fountain.

Your laughter, like the sound of a waterfall,

Echoes in my heart, a melody,

Your touch, like a ray of sunshine,

Fills my soul with ecstasy.

I kneel before you, with this ring in hand,

A symbol of my love, pure and true,

I ask you now, to be my wife,

To spend forever, my love, with you.

Together, we will watch the sunset,

And dance beneath the stars,

We will face the storms of life,

And overcome all our scars.

Tessia Eralith, my heart sings your name,

Will you do me the honor, and be mine?

Forever and always, till the end of time.

With you by my side, my love,

I know we will shine.

I love you, Tess,

My fair elven princess,

Will you make me the happiest man,

And grant me this one wish?

Please say yes, and make me whole,

For in your love, I find my bliss.

Cleary, poetry and I were not things that mixed.

Another idea I had was to cook Tess dinner. That had actually been the most plausible, since I would like to think I was decent in the kitchen. But, it only took a couple of minutes to realize that the fancy meal I needed to prepare for her had no chance to be ready in less than a day's notice.