Japan

The soft, cool breeze carried a scent that smelled faintly of sweet rain and fresh blooms. I couldn't see a thing through the thick silk blindfold wrapped around my eyes, but the steady warmth of Elysium's hand holding mine kept me grounded.

"Careful, Mamá. Take a small step up," Elysium's sweet voice guided me, full of an excitement he was trying very hard to hide.

"Where are you two taking me?" I laughed softly, my fingers tightening gently around his. "We've been walking down this road for ten minutes."

"It's a secret! Just trust me and Papá," He said brightly. I felt him gently guide me to a stop, his grip releasing my hand. "Okay... you can untie it now!"

I smiled, raising my trembling fingers to untie the silk knot at the back of my head. The fabric slipped down, and as my vision adjusted to the daylight, the sheer magnificence of the sight before me stole the breath straight from my lungs.

We were standing on a long, isolated asphalt road that stretched out as far as the eye could see. On both sides, massive, ancient cherry blossom trees arched toward one another, their branches intertwining perfectly overhead to create a spectacular, living canopy of soft pink and white petals. The sunlight filtered through the blossoms, casting a magical, dappled rosy glow over the entire path. A gentle gust of wind shook the branches, sending a breathtaking shower of pink petals swirling around us like snow.

And there, right in the center of the petal-strewn road, in front of me was Eli.

My heart leaped into my throat. He was down on one knee, his broad shoulders framed perfectly by the falling blossoms. The usual fierce, unyielding expression he wore was gone, he looked completely vulnerable as he stared up at me. In his large, steady hands, he held open a deep green box, the exact colour of my eyes. Inside, resting on a band of polished rose gold, was a magnificent, flawless pink sapphire ring surrounded by stunning golden leaves and smaller diamonds. The pink gemstone caught the filtered sunlight, radiating a brilliant, warm pink spark that perfectly matched the canopy above us.

"Celine," Eli's deep voice rumbled, thick with an emotion that made my eyes prickle with tears. "You say I'm your sun but really you're the one who pulled me out of the dark and became my brightest light. You gave me a safe home where I could dwell in, you gave me love, hope, happiness and peace. With you, I'm whole. When you're with me, I feel so complete that I don't even have words to really explain to you how much you complete my soul. How happy you make me and how much you feel like my home. As I stand here today on our very first trip to Japan, I wish to ask you, my beautiful Celine to let me spend the rest of my life with you, to go to every country with our hands intertwined together on long lonely roads like this one, just you, me and our son side by side. My little Flame, Will you marry me?"

I stared at him, tears gathering in my eyes, heart aching from how overwhelmingly touched I was. I kneeled in front of him. "God yes, I will!"I said, voice filled with emotions.

Eli exhaled in pure relief and happiness as Elysium jumped happily "Yayy finally!!"

I laughed, smiling through tears as Eli pressed a soft kiss against my lips and slipped the ring on my finger. "My beautiful flame, thank you for making me the happiest man in this entire universe"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. "Thank you for making me the happiest woman ever" I whispered back against his lips as we stood up together.

I held Elysium's hand while Eli held the other one "So this is what you too have been secretly planning since this morning" I said giving them both a knowing look.

They both grinned and it was comical how identical they looked right now. My heart overflowed with warmth.

Since Eli asked for my hand, we have had the best time together, from late night dances in the kitchen, disastrous baking moments in the kitchen with Landon and Elysium to movie nights with Agnus and Serena who to this day seemed adamant on arguing with each other instead of accepting what they clearly felt towards the other.

Mom and dad also started meeting up with Eli's parents and they all seemed to get along really well. Something Eli and I were very much happy about. Still we wanted some time just for us and Elysium so we decided to start travelling now itself since Elysium was finally in his school holidays.

It's been a few days now since we arrived in the beautiful country of Japan all because I said I wanted to see cherry blossoms and Eli of course arranged for everything immediately. I still never thought my first time seeing cherry blossoms would be this heart warming and memorable.

"You outdid yourselves this time" I said, placing a soft kiss on Elysium's head as he grinned happily.

"We sure did, you should have seen how much Papá was nervous when we went to buy the ring the other day! Mamá I swear he was sweating more than a man who just ran a thousand miles!"Elysium said playfully, nudging his dad.

I laughed watching as Eli's cheeks turned slightly pink. "I just wanted the perfect ring for Mamá"

"And it is perfect, I love it" I whispered softly, placing a soft kiss on his jawline before hugging him and Elysium close to me.

"You're both the best." I said, holding them close to me.

"No, you're the best!" Both of them said in unison, hugging me back just as tightly. making me smile even more than I already was.

I knew if Clara was staring at us from heaven right now, she would be proud and happy to see Elysium surrounded by such a loving family and thriving like I knew she would have wanted for her son. She was the one who believed I really could have the life I wanted for Eli. She told me once upon a time to trust God's timing. His timing was always the best.

And damn was she right, everything that happened led to us being here today under a canopy of pink flowers, side by side. Despite everything, despite all the barriers and secrets that were keeping Eli and me from being together the way we wanted, we made it. God did it all and brought us together.

A small family wrapped in peace, holding each other close, waiting, not with fear for tomorrow, but with calm hearts ready to greet it together knowing we would always be there for each other.

And in that stillness, I silently thanked God who had entrusted me with this precious family and for this beautiful day too, not because it would last forever, but because moments like these teach the heart how to carry hope into whatever comes next.

Because no matter how hard life can be, there's always something bright waiting for us in the end.

How do I know this?

Oh simply.. Because God is there.