He’d known her for two years now, and everything felt so magical whenever he ’s with her. And now, after lots of preparation and coordination with her friends and family, he’s ready to pop the question. So he asked her to meet him at the bookstore they first met. It was a quaint little place, with dark wooden oaken furniture and floorboards that attempted to creak if there ever was enough space. It was here that he first set eyes on her, and plucked up enough courage (though he never figured out how) to ask for her number. This would be a great place to end the courtship process, because this was the place it all began. He got his friends to help him place candles all over the bookstore, and the owner graciously accepted it though it was a completely stupid idea (books, wood and fire do not exactly make the fireman a happy man), simply because the young man reminded the owner of himself when he was younger, and dumber. So when she turned up at the stated time, punctual as she always was, he was all ready to surprise her with every single one of her best friends and relatives whom they had met together over the last two years; he wanted them all to witness his commitment, and to show her how serious he was about asking. She was most surprised, and he was sure she knew what he was up to, because that’s the way she always was, ahead of him by a mile regardless of how hard he wanted to outsmart her. One by one, each of her friends came up to her with a single stalk of rose in their hands, and she was tearing before her family appeared and gave her the same. Finally, he appeared, obviously nervous despite the flickering lighting from all those candles. He had a rose in his hand too, and something else. He knelt down, and asked her to marry him. She cried, and said, "Oh, I love you so much, but there is something about my family you should know. I come from a long line of ancestors who are all legends in their own right, and every single one of who wanted to get married had to fulfil certain criteria," she frowned as she spoke. An old dame came out from behind the wall of friends and said, "Well, not to worry, he’s fulfilled the first one when he helped me carry my bags across the road as he arrived. I can honestly say he is a kind man," her grand-aunt said with a toothless grin. "And he’s obviously romantic too, though a little daft on the safety issues," her mom added. "Most importantly, he truly loves you, because I didn’t manage to seduce him even when I told him I’ll never tell," her sister winked at him as he blushed. She was very happy, but everyone could tell there was something holding her back. Finally she spoke, "Well, there is just this one more thing. Whenever one of us in the family gets married, the engagement ring must fit the other person’s finger exactly. If it’stoo tight or loose, these two people are not destined to be together." He took a deep breath, and took out the ring. She held out her hand, and he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was too big. The whole bookstore echoed with sighs and groans, and even the owner was getting ready to turn the lights back on. She couldn’t help herself; she cried and wished the family didn’t have such stringent rules. Oh how she hated having a long family history! All she wanted to be was normal! He took the ring back, his eyes downcast. He put the ring back into the box, and then his head snapped back up. He leaned over and whispered into her ears. Her eyes, still wet with tears, suddenly came alive as the rest of the crowd started to notice her take the box from him. She took out the ring. And asked him to marry her. She slipped the ring onto his finger, and it was a perfect fit. They couldn’t not hear the cheers that erupted in the quaint little bookstore, because they were too busy hugging and kissing each other. And he was just too happy that finally, for once, he had managed to outsmart her. --

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