Transformation

Epilogue

Six years later...

I remembered the night perfectly. I remembered the tears streaming down my cheeks as he held the ring out, bent down on one knee beside the river in the calm, warm spring air. I remember the silence as my mind tried to grasp that Matthew was proposing to me, and that I had never wanted anything more.

I remembered his face as he thought I was rejecting him, and his desperate words.

"Say something, Emily, please," he'd whispered.

"Yes," I'd replied softly. "Yes a hundred times over."

With that, Matthew slipped the engagement ring onto my left hand, and kissed me gently.

***

The night had been bliss, and I don't think I'd ever been happier, until today, possibly. My wedding day. The fifteenth of August, the sun just beginning to set behind the horizon, streaming through the open window. I had turned twenty-five on the seventh of May, and Matthew had proposed to me about a month later.

My life was almost complete.

I worked as an editor for a major editing company, and loved my job, editing world-renowned authors' new books. After studying at Redding University with Matthew, I'd decided to go into editing, and I was writing my own book, which was currently sitting in a file on my computer. Matthew had gone into the medical career, and had just finished his training. He was now working at the local hospital.

Amy finished my hair, and spun back around to face the mirror so I could see myself. I had to say, Amy had performed a miracle. My face had a little make-up on, which looked utterly natural. She had twirled my hair up into a half-bun, with a few locks free at the front. My face and hair was ready, but the shorts and t-shirt didn't quite cut it. I wonder why?

"Dress time Emily!" she sang.

I rolled my eyes at her as I stood up and pulled my very short shorts down my legs. Amy looked down at my miles of leg, and helped me pull my t-shirt off without ruining her 'masterpiece'. Amy was usually normal, but today I couldn't help but make a connection between her and the Twilight Saga's Alice Cullen. I laughed a little at the comparison, and Amy frowned.

She pulled my dress from a hanger, and slipped it gently over my head. She buttoned the pearl buttons at the back, and laid out the skirts perfectly. There was a line of pearls along the top, and the dress was strapless. It hugged my body beautifully, and was gathered at the right hip, and decorated by another collection of pearls. It was a fine, silk material, and felt light on my body. The skirt flowed from my waist, down past my ankles, dragging out a little behind me.

Amy attached my veil with a pretty, blue hair-clasp, and threw it forwards over my face. Something blue, of course! I stepped into the white, high heeled shoes she handed me, and stared at the woman in the mirror. Amy grinned, and gave me a careful hug.

"Clara!" she called.

My mother and father came into the room, and hugged me one after the other. A tear welled up in my mother's eye as she took me in, and my dad wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Happy wedding day, honey," she whispered.

"My baby girl's all grown up," my dad said, grinning.

"Thanks, mum, dad," I said, smiling.

"Hey guys!" Luke called from the doorway, "Woah. Emily, Matthew is gonna freak when he sees you," he said, taking in my appearance.

"Thanks?" I asked, laughing a little.

"Seriously Emily, you look amazing," he said.

Amy walked to his side and nodded her approval. Luke wrapped his arm around her, and they grinned at each other. Luke kissed Amy's nose, and my parents looked embarrassed. Amy and Luke had been dating for about three years now, and their relationship was going smoothly.