wish list | daerin

❛ By My Side ❜ Part Two

⌗ 17
third person ✎ᝰ
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The dark of the night was illuminated by the full moon—it was light and delicate, in a way that appears otherworldly almost. It loomed large and was surrounded by an ethereal glow.

The couple were far from the suburbs now. It was quiet and lacked sight of people wandering by. Mason parked her car by a little house on a hill. It was surrounded by pink and white tulips, a fairly faded picket fence with ivy in the colour of evergreen wrapped around it. By the right hand stood a single maple tree with a swing descending from a branch above. There was a small pond too—with crystal clear water, lily pads and rocks big and small that wrap around the circumference. It was a place straight out of a fairytale. Even the dark of the night could not hide the beauty of it all. It was simply stunning.

Mason hurried out of her seat. She could feel her heart pumping. "Wait!" She grabbed the handle and opened the door for Riley. I did it she thought. Another tick of the box off the wish list.

Riley was smiling from cheek to cheek. "Maisie, what is all this?" Mason watched the latter take in the view. Their home for the weekend.

Mason closed the door behind her. "This was the reason I was so busy," She chuckled nervously, placing a hand behind her neck. "Look, I have a lot to apologise for. I didn't realise that keeping secrets would ultimately make you upset. Riley, I want you to know that it wasn't my intention." Mason took Riley's hands in hers. There was sincerity behind her almond eyes. "It was hard for me too. Keeping quiet was hard, and I mean really hard. I felt like I'd ruin the surprise if I blurted it out by accident. But that's not it," She admitted. "I had finals—we both did. And I spent a lot of my time helping other students revise. I barely had any time to myself. But still, I did what I could to make this all work out." She points to the little home they would now call theirs for the next twenty four hours. "I even got my driver's licence so I could take you here."

Riley's eyes were welling with tears. "All this time I thought you were avoiding me on purpose..."

Mason shook her head immediately, "No. Not ever, Riles. I could never do that. I'm so sorry if I made you think that..." She apologised.

Riley engulfed the younger in a tight embrace, "I should be the one apologising. Not you." She answered with a shaky breath. "I was so worried that I might've done something for you to not talk to me but all this time you were just..."

"I was just really busy," Mason reiterated. "I was so exhausted. I wanted to talk to you. I really did. But I'd fall asleep as soon as I got home. Some nights I spent hours just trying to find the right place for us to spend our anniversary."

"You really planned all of this?" Riley sniffled.

Mason cupped Riley's cheeks and wiped the tears away with the tip of her thumbs. "I wanted to make this special. For you. For us. There's no one else I love more than I do you. Riley Marsh, my heart is yours. I told you this before but I'll tell you this again. You took my heart with you the day we met. Till this day, and forevermore, it'll be yours to keep. If you want to."

Riley pressed her forehead against Mason's and nodded. Her heart was swelling with the type of warmth and happiness that could never be replicated through anything else. "And you have mine, Maisie. Always have always will. Thank you for always being so patient with me. You've showed me that true love exists...you're my invisible string. The universe had a plan all along. You were always meant to be mine. And I promise to love you till my last breath."

Their eyes well with what seems like a never ending stream of tears. The moon shines down upon them—two lovers in the night.

They stay under the moonlight for a little while longer. And when they broke apart for the first time in awhile, they walked hand in hand towards their little home on a hill.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Mason smiled. She pulls out a set of keys from her pocket with her free hand. "I fell in love with it the minute I saw it."

Riley nodded instantaneously, "It's absolutely ethereal," She smiled. "I can't believe you managed to find this." She giggled softly.

"Nothing's impossible if I'm doing it for you," Mason replied. They stop in front of the door. The younger pushes in the key and turns it in place. The door opens widely, revealing a soft interior composing of cream coloured walls, framed paintings, and a little brown table situated on the right hand side from the door. A message card sits next to a vase of fresh flowers.

"What's all this?" Riley wondered. She takes the message card off the table and reads it out loud.

"I wished upon the stars that one day I'd have the one. The one who in every universe would love me for me. I knew from the moment we met that you would inevitably be a person whose presence I could not live without. And today, I stand here with you, celebrating something special. A remarkable turn point in our lives. I thank my lucky stars for making my wishes come true. Perhaps, it's a tick of a box off my wish list too. And isn't it so pretty to think that all along there was some invisible string tying you to me? For me you are the sun and moon. You light me up on days where I feel down and in the dark. Thank you for being the one to save me when I need saving, for being the one I can rely on when I have no one, for being the one I can look for in a crowded room, for being the one to love me for who I am and never leaving. I can't deny what we have, Riles. This is all I've ever wanted and more. To love and to be loved. I know you know. I love you more than words could ever say. This is just the beginning. Thank you for giving me a chance. To loving you, forevermore. You have my heart. Always have always will. I can do anything as long as you're by my side. Happy anniversary, my Marshmallow. To many more with you, my love. It's always you. All my love always, Maisie."

Riley sets down the message card and throws her arms around Mason in a hurry. The latter stumbles over slightly from the shock.

"Hey..." She rubs the small of Riley's back.

"Why are you like this?" Riley sniffles.

"What do you mean?" Mason chuckled.

Riley pulls away slowly. "You just gave me the most romantic letter I've ever read in my life." She sobbed. "I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to have you, to love you, to be the one you call mine. You really love me this much?"

Mason wraps her arms around Riley's waist and nods. "There's no doubt in my mind. I love you that much and even more so. The love I have for you is infinite. Incomparable even..."

Riley kisses Mason softly and smiles, "When did you become such a poet, Maisie Kang?"

Mason shrugged. "I have no idea." She laughed.

Riley takes in their surroundings. It was a cosy little home that had everything they could possibly need. But nothing that she could ever need more than the girl that held her closely.

"I love you, Maisie." Riley cooed.

"I love you too, Riles." She replied.

They stand in the middle of the hallway, warm and full of love—kept safe in each other's embrace. This was one month done of many more to come. A first love that'll linger on.