CHIARA
When he told me I was going to love it, diving never crossed my mind.
We stood by the edge of the boat and dived in together. I knew how to dive. What I wasn't prepared for was the meters we went below. The blue shade of the water was getting darker. Different marine animals and fish species in different colors swam with us. I raised my hand to touch a group of small fish, zoning out at how beautiful and synchronized they were. But they avoided me like I was a plague.
I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned to find the man frowning in his mask. He motioned for me to follow him. He was a natural with the water current, unlike my careful diving self. I'd never dived under the sea, just for starters. Then a large bronze statue came into view as we dived to it. The Christ of the Abyss. I'd heard about it before. It stood majestically on the seafloor with hands spread wide and raised upward. The head was also tilted upward. The statue stood on a sort of styled altar which was encrusted with marine growth. Surrounded by corals, algae, and various underwater debris.
While I was captivated by the statue, a light touch made me turn around. The man held a number of thin writing boards with words scribbled on them. Were they waterproof? Where the hell did he even find those underwater? He nodded and pointed for me to read, and I did just that,
"You are the most beautiful woman, and you are mine." I shook my head with a smile because he loved to remind me of that every time. He moved the second one.
"I never thought I'd have what we have, but then you came and proved me wrong, tesoro." He proved me wrong too, about many things.
"I love everything about you. Especially your cold eyes. And I would never change anything about you." I chuckled while he smiled. So far, nothing has changed about me, and he once said that he loved me because I was troublesome.
"I do not loathe the day I met you. I fucking worship that day, tesoro." My eyes began to burn, and he pulled the last board.
"You have changed me into a better man. I promise to love you forever. Let me be the reason for your happiness. Let me be the reason for your peace. Because you are already mine." And a dam broke. I nodded while tearing up. He changed me into a better woman. From a monster to the person I was comfortable living as. He was my happiness as he was my peace.
A man came over and took the boards from him. I didn't even notice there were some other people around. Some were even taking pictures of us. Carmelo took my hands in his and pointed up.
The moment we emerged, my eyes connected with the white smoke in the sky. My heart melted, and my eyes teared more. Right up there, in the clear blue sky, was… 'Will you marry me, Chichi?' in big letters. A tiny airplane, which was skytyping the words, drew a big heart right after them. People cheered.
I took off the mask and turned behind me only to find the man already on the boat. "What the hell is this, Melo?" I asked, sniffling. He cackled, "This is me, proving to everyone that I'm mad over you, tesoro." He helped me up on the boat, and the second he did, I pounced on him with a kiss. Desperately held him, pressed to his bare chest so tight that I could feel both of our hearts drumming.
Since that day I took off the ring, he didn't ask me anything about it when I woke up from the coma. Only to find out now that he had a big surprise in store for me.
He went on his knee once we pulled back. Fished something from his pocket and raised the same ring to me. "So? Are you taking me for the rest of your life or not?" He asked. I crossed my hands over my chest with an attitude, "That depends." He shook his head, smiling. "On what, tesoro?"
"On how many kids you want. I'm definitely not having ten of them with you." He threw his head back laughing, and I couldn't help but smile. "We'll have exactly the number you want, tesoro."
I raised a brow, "Yeah?" He nodded, "Yeah."
"Then yes. I'm taking you for the rest of my life." I stretched my hand, he put the ring on my finger, and got to his feet. "We're doing this forever, tesoro." He said, pulling me by my waist. I wrapped my hands around his neck, "Every lifetime, baby." I said, smiling as our lips sealed before the loud cheers around us.