36. Naya
THIRTY-SIX
NAYA
A year had passed since that enchanting Christmas Day when Amias took me on a sleigh ride through the snow-dusted countryside.
The memory of it lingered in my heart like a cherished melody, a prelude to the countless beautiful moments we had shared since.
So, when Amias suggested we revisit the farm on Christmas Day again, a wave of nostalgia and excitement washed over me, unaware that the day was about to become a cornerstone of our story.
The farm was just as magical as I remembered it, a serene expanse of white stretching towards the horizon, the sleigh tracks from our previous visit long erased but forever etched in my memory.
The cold nipped at my cheeks, but the excitement bubbling inside me kept the chill at bay.
We were bundled up against the cold, our breaths forming little clouds in the air as we laughed and reminisced about the past year.
As the sleigh glided smoothly over the snow, Amias' hand found mine, squeezing it gently.
There was a tension in him that I hadn't noticed before, a nervous energy that belied his usual calm.
Before I could ponder it further, the sleigh came to a gentle stop in the middle of the snow-covered field, the silence around us so profound I could almost hear my own heartbeat.
Amias turned to me, his eyes shining with a mix of emotions.
"Naya," he began, his voice steady but filled with an intensity that immediately captured my full attention.
"This place, this day... it's where I realized I wanted to spend every Christmas, every day, with you.
You've changed my life in ways I can't even begin to describe, and I can't imagine a future without you in it. "
Then, to my utter shock and delight, he got down on one knee in the sleigh, the snow around us a perfect, untouched canvas.
From his pocket, he produced a small velvet box, opening it to reveal a ring that took my breath away.
The ring was unlike anything I had ever seen—a delicate band of rose gold, its warmth echoing the glow of the setting sun.
At its center, sat a diamond, not ostentatiously large but incredibly brilliant, flanked on either side by smaller stones that sparkled like the snow around us.
"Naya, will you marry me?" he asked, his voice a mix of hope and certainty.
Tears pricked my eyes, blurring the beautiful scene into a wash of colors as a surge of love and joy overwhelmed me. "Yes," I whispered, the word barely audible but laden with all the emotion I felt at that moment. "Yes, Amias, I will marry you."
As he slid the ring onto my finger, a perfect fit, we embraced, the world around us fading into a blur of joy, love, and the promise of a future together.
The diamond on my finger caught the last rays of the setting sun, a beacon of our new beginning.
As we continued our ride, now an engaged couple embarking on a journey together, the beauty of the ring was a constant reminder of the depth of our love, a love as enduring as the timeless landscape around us, as bright as the Christmas stars above.