People often describe love as sparks, Fireworks lighting up the night, and the world dissolving into you and them. But really, it's not like that at all. It's about comfort, trust, that steady feeling of knowing you have a net under you if you fall somewhere you can't catch yourself. I should know.

I met the love of my life in high school. We were young, impressionable, thinking we could last forever. And you know what? Somehow, someway, what happens to other people didn't happen to us. We stayed together, throughout high school and college, though everyone's doubts and expectations. Somehow, we made it.

The box in my pocket was heavy, the velvet covering probably worn of its color from my worrying fingers. She sat there, just a few feet away, gazing at the sky with a small smile on her face. I remembered the first time I ever saw her, how amazed I'd been. And how I'd thought that she would never go for a guy like me.

Yet here she was.

For a second, I almost backed out. Was I willing to risk all of this, everything we had?

But then she looked over at me, and I knew--I was. I was willing to risk everything, because the prospect of having something more--I just couldn't let it pass by.

I couldn't.

"Hey," I said suddenly. She glanced over at me, and I realized I had to finish. "Can I, uh...Can I ask you something?"

She gave a sarcastic smirk, but her answer faded when she saw the look on my face. "Yeah, of course."

I turned the box over in my hand, trying to piece together the random threads of worries into something I could cope with.

"When I first met you," I blurted, "I never thought we would get...here. And now we're here, and I just....I want to try something new."

She gave me a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You better not be breaking up with me."

"Not quite." I pulled myself up, kneeling down in front of her. She gasped, and put her hand to her mouth. "If this is a prank I will throw you off this hill."

I laughed. "Ever the motivational speaker." I took out the black box in my pocket, and her eyes widened further. I looked at her. "Ever since I met you, something in me has told me to never let you go. You make life better, more colorful, more...worth living. Everything we do is like a new experience, no matter how many times I've done it. You've listened when no one else would, you've helped me start over. The way you look at the world, it's...it's amazing." I smiled, and she gave a small, disbelieving laugh. "I really thought I would never find someone like me, who was right for me. But you...you're perfect. You make life better for me. I need you. We've fought for where we are, we've been together for years...I don't think I could ever let you go." I met her eyes, which were filling with tears. I opened the box. "Please don't make me let you go."

There was a millisecond pause, and she laughed. Tears spilled down her face, and she threw her arms around me, the ring falling to the ground. "You're not getting away, even if you wanted to."

I pulled her close, burying my face in her shoulder. "Is that a yes?"

"Sí," she said with a smile. "It is."

She kissed me, and you know what, it wasn't fireworks. It was her. And that's all I need.