I've known her all my life, and I knew I loved her from the moment I met her. How can you love someone at three years old you ask? Well, according to my mother, I proposed to her in preschool. She didn't answer. I asked her to our grade 5 Spring Dance. No answer. We went together anyways.
The one memory that really sticks out was when we were both in secondary 3. I went to her locker before homeroom. She was searching for her english book, wearing a bright blue shirt, and navy jeans. They both fit her perfectly. She was perfect, perfect to me anyways.
I remember asking her to be my girlfriend, and how shakey my voice was. I was sweating bullets, and my mind was going crazy.
She didn't say anything. She just took my hand in hers and nodded. The rest of that day, I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
Ellanora couldn't talk. She wasn't sick or anything, but no one had any memory of her ever saying anything.
As far as anyone was concerned, she was mute. She had never said anything to her family, let alone me. Though that didn't bother me, I even found it endearing.
On the day of her 17th birthday, I brought her to an abandonned air field. The planes had all been removed after the area big airport was built on the other end of town. Then, it was just a large field, with yellow wildflowers dominating the grass.
She was wearing a purple dress, that rested just above her knees, it had short sleeves. Anything she wore was beautiful. I had actually bought her that dress when we went to the mall together. We were celebrating me getting my first job at the farmers market, packing groceries.
We sat crossed legged, faceing each other while the sun shone over her face. I held both her hands, and began to sing her happy birthday. When I finished saranading her, she smiled, a smile that should have been a laugh. I knew I couldn't sing, but I .would sing to her until my lungs gave out.
"You deserve a perfect day Ellie." I whispered under my breath. She just looked at me. Silent.
We just layed then, sitting, looking at the sky, watching clouds flutter by, changing shapes as they went along.
Our first real argument was when we were 20. I was talking to her about moving away, leaving our small town. I asked her to come with me, to leave everything behind to come with me. I told her how I had saved enough money to buy my dad's pickup truck off of him. She watched my lips with her deep brown eye's. All she did was frown.
"What?" I asked her. No response. "Please, just this once Ellie, say something. Just a yes, or an okay. I need to know how you feel." Still, she said nothing. I couldn't help but lash out. My boss had just cursed me out for dropping a bag of groceries, and splattering an egg carton everywhere, and I was getting bad grades in college, despite all my effort. On top of that, and Ellanora not saying anything, I lost it.
"Why can't you say anything! I just need one word! How is this going to work if you never say anything! Ellanora please!" She just looked at me, her hands folded in the table we sat at. "Let me know when you're ready to talk." And I walked out of the room, and out of her house, slamming the door behind me.
I went straight home, and ran up to my room. I ignored my parent's hands reaching for me, and them asking me what was wrong.
I fell onto my bed and cried. How was I supposed to make a future with her when she wouldn't talk? When she couldn't even laugh. I loved her, but it was so difficult to keep a conversation going with a mute girl.
I didn't speak to her for a week. I couldn't muster the strength to go over to her house.
She lived six houses down, but when I finally went to apologize, it felt like six miles.
I knocked on her door ever so slightly. I waited for thirthy seconds, shaking with anticipation, before she answered the door. She was wearing the purple dress. I saw her eye's, and i couldn't help but pull her into a hug. i then realised she was crying.
"I'm so sorry. Ellie I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I know you can't talk. I understand, I can live with that. I love you so much Ellie, you don't understand. I love you so much it hurts." I stumbled over my words, my mind was going frantic with guilt.
She pulled away from our hug, and looked me in the face with her puffy red eye's. She nodded in understanding.
I felt as though a giant weight had been lifted off my chest. I kissed her, at least a hundred times. She was slowly beginning to smile.
"Will you move with me?" I asked, more gently than the last time I had asked.
She nodded, furiously nodded. She couldn't seem to stop smiling. She opened her mouth, but closed it right away.
I almost lost it, she was about to speak. "Go ahead Ellie, say what you were going to say, I'm listening, please, you can do it"
She looked to the floor for a minute, and then took my hands in hers and looked at me dead in my eye's. She was still smiling.
"Will... Will..." Her voice was beautiful, gentle and quiet. She was so reluctant in speaking. Tears were streaming down my face then. That was her first time speaking, ever. It made me so happy, i wantedto break doen and cry. "Will... Will you... Will you marry me?" My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. I pulled her into my arms, and spoke into her ear, through her hair.
"Yes."
