As we wander through the park, feet tapping in sync on the stone walkway, I couldn't ask for anything more perfect. Your hand in mine, with your eyes shining more brightly than the stars and the moon. Your infectious laugh echoes when you shamelessly laugh at my terrible jokes.

It's been  a perfect night, a perfect date. Dinner, a movie, and a stroll through the park. But this has happened many times before, and tonight somehow feels different, special.

We've been together for three years now, since senior year of college. We crashed into each other at Starbucks (how cliché!), and you bought me a new frapp after mine went flying across the room. You made a great first impression, showing how sweet, caring, and responsible you are. And you're absolutely beautiful. Your long strawberry blonde hair fell in mermaid waves. Your bright blue eyes sparked brightly, like they always have. You wore red lipstick, a black dress and flats, and a grey blazer. You had just finished with a job interview, and were heading to study, but instead, you took the time to talk to me. And I'm so thankful you did. I feel like we are destiny.

From there, we exchanged Facebook accounts, and started talking. And we would be chatting all.the.time. In class, whenever I saw a message from you, I couldn't help but smile. Even in the beginning, you brightened my days.

We went for coffee infinitely many times after that, fueling both our addictions to coffee. We visited all the nearby coffee shops, on and off campus, exploring and adventuring all over. We explored the underground campus tunnels, abandoned buildings, restaurants, malls, museums, trails, anything! I grabbed your hand and dragged you to so many different places. Some of our best adventures were last minute exploration plans.

After our campus days were over, after we graduated together, we stayed in the city and found an apartment. You found a great accounting job at a business firm, and I joined up with some other professionals to open up a counseling practice. We adjusted to this crazy adult world together, and only grew closer as s*** got real. We got an adorable corgi named Olly together, and bought a gorgeous mini Cooper once we saved up enough.

Since then, we've been "adulting". It's far from fun, but it's life, and you make it so much better. We have our fights, our ups and downs, our fears, our dreams. We are a match.

So, I guess, back to today. This morning, I went to work, had a heartwrenching meeting with a client, and then, after the appointment, broke down myself. I, a therapist, had a severe panic attack at work and had to be calmed by another therapist. I was embarrassed and felt hopeless and destroyed. Thankfully, my coworkers handled my schedule for the day, and told me to take the day to heal. I drove home, shaking and tearful, shattered by this poor, abused child I had met with. I layed in the bed at home, paralyzed \yet tearful due to the sadness and complexity of this case.

Around noon, my phone rang. I mustered up the motivation to answer, because I knew I needed to hear your smooth, sweet voice.

You: Hey

Me: Hi

You: Are you okay? Your coworker Mel called me and said I might want to check up on you.

Me: I don't know if I'm okay

You: Depressive episode? Something at work?

Me: A really severe one. And yes, this poor kid....

You: Sweetheart, I know how much it pains you to see suffering. I promise, you are making a difference. You have a beautiful soul, full of light and care. You have to take care of you, no matter how hard it is.

Me: I love you. I'm sorry I'm such a burden.

You: You're not a burden at all. I love you so much.

Me: I should let you get back to work.

You: Okay, sweetie. Talk to you later. Be strong.

Me: Talk to you later.

I hung up the phone, and curled up in the bed, still feeling torn. I just layed there for what felt like forever. Suddenly, I started to hear noises. A key turned in to the lock. Next thing I knew, you were in the room, throwing a plastic bag on the floor, jumping into the bed, and holding me tightly. We layed there for a while, my tears drying, until we both sat up.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked.

"I talked to my boss. Said it was an emergency"

"But it isn't. I'm alive."

"It is. I love you and you're hurting. I don't want you to harm yourself. You've stopped me so many times. I need to be here for you. You matter so much. And it's going to be okay."
You took my hand and kissed it. I pulled my hand back, leaned in, and touched my lips to yours gently.

"I love you so much. Thank you for being my hero.", I said, looking into your sparkling eyes.

"I love you too. I'll always be here to save you, and I know you'll do the same for me." You then reach over, grab the plastic bag, and reach inside. "I brought Sweethearts for my sweetheart" you say with a smile, and place your arm around me. I weakly smile, and you ask, "Have you eaten today?" I shake my head, and you say, "Okay, here's an idea. Why don't you go take a nice shower so you'll feel better, then we'll get dressed up nice and go out to dinner,  movie, and maybe a walk in the park. Sound good?"

I say, "Yes," and kiss you on the cheek, and head in to take a shower. I take a quick shower, and hear you quietly talking on the phone, sounding like there's some secret going on. I shake it off, and get dressed in a dark blue velvet dress. I put on some subtle diamond studs and brush my brown hair. I slip on a pair of flats, through on some mascara and chapstick, and walk out to the living room.

You're there, in a dark green silky dress, with your hair pulled up and a few bangles on. You grab your purse and we head out. We ride with the top down, and head to a cute little retro diner. We sit on barstools and talk about lighthearted things as we watch the sunset. You still seem a bit off, distracted, and I remain a bit confused.

Next, we go to the theatre to watch the latest silly comedy. you buy yourself sour patch kids, and also grab my favorite as well--peanut butter M&Ms. We watch the movie, snuggled up to each other, and my mood continues to lighten.
After the movie, we decide to head to the park for a moonlight stroll. Now, you're quite obviously distracted and jittery, and I even catch you texting while driving. I'm extremely confused, but conclude that it probably has to do with missed work assignments.

So now we're here, taking our midnight stroll, you still looking beautiful and jittery. The moon is full and the stars are abundant. The air is cool and crisp. As we approach the lookout by the lake, I can see the glow of the moon on the still water, and feel the slight breeze.

This lookout spot is very important to us, we had our first kiss here. We always visit here when we take a stroll. There's an intricate, swirled metal bench, a black metal railing, and a colorful stone mosaic floor on the circular platform. This platform is on a large rock ten feet above the lake. Overall, it's a beautiful, magical place.

We stand up on the platform area. I hear noise coming from the nearby woods, but you put your arm across my back for reassurance. You still look really shaky, though, so, concerned, I pull away and ask, "Hun, are you okay? What's going on?"

You take a deep breath and turn to me. "Okay. Sweetie, today was a really rough day, but we got through it, and this only adds to what I want to talk to you about. Today, you called me your hero. And you've been my hero so many times. We save each other. We work, being together, we fit together. You and I, we're a perfect match. we're destiny! Let's be each other's heroes forever and always!" You fall to one knee, and pull a box out of your purse. You pop the box open, to reveal a set of gorgeous, matching engagement rings, and ask, "Will you marry me?"

Tears of joy fill my eyes as I shout, "yes, yes!" You place a ring on my finger, I place one on yours, and we embrace. We kiss under the light of the moon, and it could not be more perfect. <3

On a side note, later, I find out that you were very sneakily texting Mel, so she knew to set up a camera in the wooded area, to film our engagement video for family and friends. You're so adorably sweet!