June 1978 — Nineteen-year-old Margaret hummed to herself as she pulled back the fronts of her strawberry-blonde hair and secured the strands in a barrette.
She smoothed the wrinkles in her skirt, slipped on her heels, then grabbed the heart-shaped locket from her dresser and put it on. She studied herself in the floor-length mirror and twirled.
Outside her opened window, she heard whistling. Smiling, she bolted from the room, stopping just long enough to grab her shoulder purse and went downstairs.
Her mom reached the door before she did and opened it to reveal John standing on the step, his usually messy brown hair neatly combed. “Hi, Maggie,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
Her smile widened. “Thank you,” she said, joining him on the step. “You look handsome yourself.”
He grinned. “Ready?”
“Yep!”
As they turned to leave, Jack glanced over at her parents and nervously smiled. They gave him a thumbs-up and Mr. Reid winked.
“Where are we going?” Margaret asked, trying not to trip. “Can I open my eyes yet?”
“Not yet,” John said. He helped her down a slope and led her a few more steps. “Okay, now.”
She opened her amber eyes and gasped. A field dotted with daisies stretched before them and to the west, the sun was starting to lower behind the horizon, turning the sky shades of pink and orange and yellow.
“Oh, Jack,” she breathed, turning in a circle before looking up into his blue-gray eyes. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he replied. “I found this place on a walk a few weeks back and when I first saw it, I thought, ‘This is the perfect place to take Maggie, because she loves fields and she loves daisies.'”
He took her hands in his. “And I’ve been looking for the perfect spot to ask you a very important question…”
Margaret thought she could hear her heart beating a million miles per minute. Was he going to…?
“I love you, Maggie,” John said. “So much.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
“Maggie…” He dug around in his jacket pocket as he got down on one knee. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
©H.S. Kylian 2018 // All images © Hannah Killian 2013-2018
(Critiques are welcome and appreciated!)
H.S. KYLIAN 