Angel Poses And Runny Noses

Submitted into Contest #77 in response to: Write about two people going sledding for the first time in many years.... view prompt

25 comments

Creative Nonfiction Happy Romance

 December 14th, 1999, in Ms. Campbell's 1st-grade class, I had stood up in front of the class and declared that I would one day marry Emma Bailey. "Just you wait! You'll see!" Twenty years had passed, and still, she was perfect. Today was the day I would keep that promise. I hope.

Emma turned to me, "Why did we come here again, Jake?" 

I feel my palms turn sweaty, I feel the ring sitting in my back pocket, I anxiously check if it is still there. It is confirmed that I am still in possession of the ring. 

I stutter in my nervousness, "I, um. I think it would be cool if we could come back to where we first met." 

She laughed. That lovely laugh. "In first grade. On the playground. Jake, we've been dating for eight years and we've been all over. Why here, why now?" I feel myself blush. I say nothing but I try to change the subject real quick before she can get suspicious. I saw a large hill blank with snow. "Remember that hill?" Emma laughed. "The Bloody Summit, or the No No Hill, I can't remember?" I smile. "Yeah, remember when you and I rode down that hill. It looked so big compared to now. Were we that tiny?" Emma teased. "You cried, you screamed." She tried to impersonate my falsetto seven-year-old voice. "Help! I want to get off! We're going to die! AHHHHH! You were so dramatic, darling." I blush remembering how I had cried and cried like a baby. "Yeah, so you wanna go down?" Emma nods in agreement still smirking at my shameful display.

 I gesture to the old rickety red sled and she gets in. I drag the sled up the uneven surface. I look around so many memories in just one place. How could this be? I feel all my emotions come from those simpler times. My heart ached for those plainer times. Still, I would not change a thing.  

We reach the top, I wrap my arms around her waist and we slid all the way down. The wind rips at my face, icy air tore at my lungs. Suddenly, the sled careened and we flipped through the air. I roll down the hill, the snow crunching under me. I feel all the rocks and chunks below me. I see Emma flying above me and land a few feet away. I scramble toward her slipping on the wetness of the hill. She lies there in the snow shaking. "EMMA!" I scream. 

As I get closer, I hear her laughing HYSTERICALLY. Her entire body heaved with each laugh. I flop next to her. Her eyes as streaked with tears from chuckling, she gasps for breath. I shake her. "Don't do that," I whined. She rolled over, "We really stuck the landing!" She squealed. 

I abruptly realize something is terribly wrong. My pockets are light. Our unexpected crash landing had flung the ring out of my pocket. I start scrambling around frantically patting the snow looking desperately. I curse myself thousand times over for getting a white velvet box. I start having my mini panic attacks. Emma immediately notices. My shortness of breath, my dizziness, my feelings of doom and anxiety. She tries to calm me. "Chris, what happened? Breathe, count your breaths." I try too. I really do. I try to take control of my racing heart. I can't though. I can't tell her what is really go on, well because that would ruin everything. 

 Emma sees that I am still incredibly stressed. She takes a hold of my hand and forces me to look into her eyes. "Chris." She says slowly. "Tell me." 

A million things ran through my head. Lie, run, just don't say any-. I stop mid-thought and find the box and I snatch it up before it can escape my clutches again. My frozen fingers wrapped around the box. I must have looked soooo romantic. My snot frozen to my face, covered in snow, my teeth chattering, my body shivering, panting from adrenaline.

 "Emma Bailey, from the first time I laid eyes on you twenty years ago on this day, I knew you were the one for me. You are and will always be my everything. II loved you forever and always. Will you complete me and marry me?" Emma sobbed. Through her tears, her eyes smiled. "YES!" She screamed. I scooted over to her and slid the ring on her finger. She cried harder. 

The ring was her dream ring. She had described it to me in high school, nonchalantly as we were eating lunch on a hot July afternoon. "I would want my ring to be simple, a fine small diamond. Just like my mom's." I had borrowed that ring and added an Emma twist to it.

 Together we lay down crying happy tears, Emma started moving her limbs outward in constant motion. I did the same. With salty frozen tears on our cheeks, we made snow angels. She turned over and grabbed my hand. I looked into her deep deep brown eyes. I got lost in them. I saw my life, no OUR life flash before my eyes. I saw our wedding. Our kids. Our kids growing up. Our love grows stronger as our children grow. I see us in our ripe old age, more in love than ever before. I whisper to her, "Be mine forever and always." Emma kissed me, "And till death do us part." I grin. "No, never. I will never leave you." One last tear slipped down her face. She barely murmured, "Nor I." Her auburn hair flaked with snow, her brown eyes filled with love and joy, her pale face pink from the cold. She was perfect. Just as she had always been. Dear Lord, I pray that there are many more years of happiness to come. I pray for us to stay together forever, that we will ride this life out together, and be together there forever after.

January 20, 2021 08:01

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25 comments

Amazing title. Amazing story. Amazing ending. Amazing everything!!

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Kylie Rudolf
17:09 Jan 21, 2021

Thank you so much!

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Your welcome!

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Nainika Gupta
14:05 Jan 20, 2021

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaw Kylie - from the title, I knew this would be a sweet story, and you didn't disappoint. It was so cute, and I loved it!! Awesome job!!!

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Kylie Rudolf
14:10 Jan 20, 2021

Thank you so much, Nainika!

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Nainika Gupta
14:17 Jan 20, 2021

of course! :D

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Aww! The most precious and heart-warming story! Great work Kylie! and im sorry ur leaving :(

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Kylie Rudolf
21:10 Aug 30, 2021

Thank you very much, I'm considering coming back. Your comment made my day!

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Aww of course! YAY! That sounds music to my ears :DD

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Yolanda Wu
04:52 Jan 22, 2021

Omg, this story was amazing! It was so sweet and fluffy and pure. I loved everything about it from the distinct and effective voice to the way you crafted Chris and Emma's relationship, by the end, I felt like I knew them just like real people! Wonderful work, Kylie!

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Kylie Rudolf
14:55 Jan 22, 2021

Thank you! I wasn't sure at my hand at romance because I had written romance stories in the past and they were mushy and really had no point. I am glad this one was better. Thank you so much, Yolanda!

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Yolanda Wu
22:42 Jan 22, 2021

You're welcome, Kylie! Trust me, we've all had our experiences with writing mushy, no-point romances.

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Kylie Rudolf
00:20 Jan 23, 2021

Thanks, I appreciate it! How long have you been writing?

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Yolanda Wu
02:40 Jan 23, 2021

Well I've written stories ever since I could remember, but I didn't really get serious about it until I was like thirteen which was when I wrote my first novel - it was very bad btw, but yeah. What about you?

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Kylie Rudolf
07:52 Feb 21, 2021

When I was five I was inspired by a magic school bus episode talking about the human body, I wrote a "book" {ten pages stapled together illustrated in crayon} about two hearts going on a journey to find the princess and free her from her tower.

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19:11 Jun 21, 2021

When they slid down the hill, my first thought was, "I really hope he doesn't lose the ring..." Oh well. At least he found it again! Beautiful love story. Emma and Chris deserve all the best. :) A couple small critiques: 1) I did notice that another comment mentioned this already, but you called Chris "Jake" in the second paragraph. 2) Sometimes the dialogue was a *tiny* bit hard to follow, but it's nothing a second read-through won't fix, and I could read through this story many times over! Amazing job!

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Kylie Rudolf
01:09 Jun 22, 2021

Thank you for bringing this to my attention!

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Kylie Rudolf
01:09 Jun 22, 2021

Thank you for bringing this to my attention!

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Daniel R. Hayes
06:30 Feb 21, 2021

Hi Kylie, I thought this story was amazing and very sweet. I really enjoyed reading it. I think you have a wonderful talent for writing and storytelling. I can't wait to read more of your stories. Great job :)

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Kylie Rudolf
07:49 Feb 21, 2021

Thanks so much, I too look forward to reading yours! Best wishes

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Kylie Rudolf
07:49 Feb 21, 2021

Thanks so much, I too look forward to reading yours! Best wishes

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Bella Shah
18:01 Feb 15, 2021

As I am reading this story over again, I realized that in the beginning, it says his name is Jake, but then later in the story, it changes to Chris? Either way, great job Kylie :) you did amazing with this story! (also enjoy your winter break :D ) #ClassicWritingSquad -Bella

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Kylie Rudolf
19:20 Feb 15, 2021

Wow sorry. I wrote this a month ago at 2am sleep deprived. Sorry bout that. You also!🤍

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Nancy Drayce
16:32 Feb 11, 2021

Such a lovely story! The part where he lost the ring was very surprising! Their love story is very beautiful! Good job!! 💙🌟

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Kylie Rudolf
17:13 Feb 11, 2021

Thank you so much, Nancy!🤍

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