Erasing Faith(107)

So, at long last, we were free.

We didn’t have a plan. We’d blow from place to place, carried by the wind, two fallen leaves in a vortex of possibility. Who knew where we’d land?

I didn’t care, so long as we were together. For me, home was Wes.

“Is there some kind of festival?” I asked, my eyes scanning the bridge. It was often closed to auto traffic on weekends, but this was different. There were no vendor carts parked along the road. No guided walking tours for tourists grouped at the stone lions, snapping photos. No pedestrians clogged the entryway. Besides the solitary man standing guard at the blockaded entrance, the bridge was entirely empty — something I’d never seen, in all my trips across it. My curiosity mounted as we walked ever closer and the railings came into focus.

I thought it was snow, at first.

Thick braided ropes of white flowers had been strung from one side of the bridge to the other — a million blooms, all pure white. They covered every surface like a bizarre floral ice storm had swept across the Danube, leaving nothing but blossoms behind.

I gasped at the beauty of it.

It was nearly Christmas; flowers wouldn’t bloom here for several months, so they must’ve been imported, likely at great expense. But, whatever the cost, the effect was undeniable. Magical. A winter wonderland of snowy petals, blanketing the stonework of the bridge.

The flowers’ beauty was starkly juxtaposed with the harsh metal beneath — a dichotomy in its most basic form.

Hard and soft, grit and grace, winter and spring.

A contradiction.

And, just like that, I knew.

“You did this,” I breathed, my breath puffing visibly in the cold air. My hand squeezed his as we stepped past the guard, who smiled knowingly in our direction, onto the abandoned bridge. I felt not a flicker of fear at the prospect of crossing, as my eyes swept around, taking it all in. I looked over at Wes, wide eyed. His crooked grin confirmed it.

“But… why?” I asked, my voice laced with wonderment.

He stopped and pulled me in for a long, lingering kiss.

“Because I love you,” he said simply. “Now, come on. You’re going to miss your surprise.”

I laughed. “I thought this was the surprise.”

His grin widened, his hand tightened on mine, and he tugged me further out onto the bridge. We walked for several minutes in silence, both admiring the ivory beauty around us, until we reached the exact center. There, Wes stopped and turned to face me, his eyes holding a gravity I’d rarely seen in the past.

“Faith Moon Morrissey,” he said, unable to keep his lips from twisting in a small smile as he said my full name. “Do you remember the first time I brought you here?”

I nodded.

“You didn’t want to walk the bridge. You were terrified — but you did it anyway. You didn’t let the fear stop you from living, from experiencing everything life has to offer. You trusted me, against all logic, against all reason, to keep you safe. That’s when I knew you were brave.” His voice dropped lower. “You counted to five, conquered your fear, and threw your arms around me, even though I was basically a stranger. That’s the moment I knew I loved you.”

I tied to speak, but he wasn’t finished.

“Three years ago, you tied your life to mine accidentally.” My eyes dropped to the cord around his neck and I smiled at the memory. “You didn’t have a choice, then. But you do, now.”

My jaw went slack as I finally realized what was happening.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag. I felt my eyes water as I watched him pour its contents into the calloused palm of his hand — two shining bands of platinum, one large and one small. He stared into my eyes and I felt my heart spill over with love as he took my hand.

“Marry me.” He didn’t ask, because there was no question. “Again. For real. Forever.”

“Yes,” I breathed without a moment’s hesitation, hurling my body against his and kissing him until the air in my lungs ran out and I couldn’t breathe. “Yes.”

His touch was featherlight, delicate, as he slipped the band onto my finger. With shaking hands, I worked his ring past his scarred knuckle and watched breathlessly as it slid into place.

Looking down at our hands, at the gleaming twin loops around our fingers, I knew, for the rest of my life, nothing would ever be as perfect as it was in this moment.

And that was okay.

I didn’t need perfect. I just needed him.

Faith and Wes.

Wes and Faith.

Forever.

As we kissed on the contradictory bridge of splendor and stone, pressed together in our own special paradox, I knew the untamed wolf and the foolish girl had found their happy ending against all odds.

Our love couldn’t be erased.

We were permanent.




THE END