A Proposal, Part 3
It was the subtle sound of wood striking wood that brought Cameron back to consciousness. It was the first thing he noticed, even before he opened his eyes. And then he opened them. The storm had passed, as had the night. The clear blue sky overhead was the second thing he noticed. And then he moved, and couldn’t help but notice the pain that wracked his every muscle and every bone. As he pulled himself into a sitting position he looked around, taking note of the damage. The boat was in pieces. Random planks of wood lay in chaos. It was a miracle the boat was still afloat.
Cameron was wondering how he was still alive when he heard the dull thud of wood on wood once more. Slowly he dragged himself to his feet, turning toward the sound. As he looked over the side of the boat, at the calm water below, his heart stopped. His jaw dropped. A chill ran down his spine. His hands began to tremble. Lying below him, face up on a floating piece of wood was the most breathtaking girl he had ever seen. She had long, brown hair and deep, mysterious brown eyes. Wrapped about her shivering body was a brilliant green dress. Cameron recognized her immediately. She was the girl in his dreams, there was no doubt.
A fearful excitement began to stir his cold heart. The air seemed fresher now. The sun shown brighter. His body didn’t ache as badly. In an instant everything was different and somehow Cameron knew that nothing would ever again be the same. The brown eyed girl looked up in a daze, soundless words on her lips.
“Help… me… please…” Cameron jumped into action. After finding a length of wood that could reach to the water, the boy guided the floating castaway to the stern of the boat where he then pulled her aboard. With the girls head lying softly in his lap, Cameron helped the girl to a jug of fresh water that he had found below deck. After a few minutes the girl spoke.
“Thank you.” She said hoarsely. Cameron nodded.
“What’s your name?” He asked her softly. She smiled.
“Haley.” The girl said. They looked at each other for a moment and then Cameron grinned.
“Hello there, Haley.” He said. “I am Cameron.” The girl smiled again and closed her eyes, and slept. She slept for several hours there in his lap. He watched her sleep, running his hand lightly across her face and through her hair. Over and over the boy mouthed her name, as though it were a prayer that he had always known, but never before said. Haley. Haley. Haley…
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When the girl awoke once more, she told Cameron of how she came to be lying on a piece of driftwood in the calm after the storm. It was an amazing tale in itself, but a tale to be told another day. Let us just say that it was a tale much like the boy’s in many ways. And as the girl told him of it, the boy’s heart melted, and his anger faded. Cameron, who had never had direction, never had a purpose, suddenly realized that somehow his entire life had led him to this day, to this moment. And in the time it took to limp the boat into the harbor, the boy and girl had become the best of friends. As they stepped back onto the safety of dry land, the two survivors marveled at how they felt they had already known each other their entire lives, and not just mere hours.----------------------------------------------------------
With the next dawn, Haley traveled home to find her family and let them know that she was safe. But over the next few months the two remained in touch and their friendship quickly became something much more. In the spring of the next year, Haley moved in with Cameron into the home of his childhood. The two were head-over-heels in love with each other. One was rarely seen around town without the other. Every day the boy thanked God for bringing them together like He had. And every night, in his dreams, Cameron still dreamed of the same girl – the brown eyed angel that he had always dreamed of, the girl who had saved him, the girl named Haley.
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A knock pulled Haley away from a book she had been reading. When she opened the door she was greeted by the village mailman.
“Package for ya, Miss.” He said, smiling. Haley took the blank, oversized envelope.
“Thank you.” She said pleasantly.
“Pleasure.” He nodded. “Good day now.”
With that, Haley shut the door. Sitting down at the kitchen table, she examined the package. There were no clues on the outside, other than the words, “My Best Friend” printed in a familiar handwriting on the front. Curious, she opened one end of the envelope and reached inside. Upon emptying the package, Haley found only a handmade journal with a second, smaller envelope tucked inside. On the journal’s cover were the words, “A Proposal.” Confused, she pulled out the smaller envelope. On it was a warning not to open until she read from the journal. Excitement began to fill her as the girl realized she had seen the journal once before, accidentally, in Cameron’s bag some time back. With her heart in her throat, the girl opened the book and began to read. She immediately recognized Cameron’s nervous handwriting. Her hands began to shake as she read. She found herself shivering although a warm, wood burning fire lay only several feet away in the living room. Her breath came more quickly and it was all that she could do to remain sitting long enough to read what he had written.
The journal was filled with his thoughts, his fears, his loves and his dreams. In those pages Cameron told Haley that she was his best friend and that his entire life had been leading him to one single day, one single moment, one single question. In those pages the boy told his girl that she had put a name to the face he had always known he would someday find. He told her that now that he had found her, he never wanted to let her go. In that journal Cameron told Haley that he wanted her to have his children, that he wanted to grow old by her side. And when the girl read the final words that he had written, she screamed. They said boldly, and simply…
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
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The story ends here, my sweet Julie Anne, but this is not the end of the story. This is the beginning. If you turn this page there are countless more that are blank, that are waiting to be written on. We have the rest of our lives to finish writing our story. Just as Haley found once she opened the white envelope that was tucked in the pages of the journal, you will find a ticket inside. Please take this ticket and come join me so that we can finish writing this story, our story, together. I love you so very much! And if you come find me, I have a question that I would like to ask you…
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And thus ends A Proposal, Part 3.
The rest of the story... Well, that is still in the midst of being written.
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