Why Can't You?

He got down on one knee and I covered my hand with my mouth. It was dark and the candles surrounding us flickered light onto his face so that I could see his sea foam green eyes sparkling. "Will you marry me?" he asked breathily, obviously in love with me. It was every girl's dream proposal. It was the type of thing middle school girls dreamed about in bed at night. He handed me a little black case and I opened it to find the most beautiful ring in the world. The gold circle was shaped like a vine and the diamond was cut ever so carefully as a rose. It was so detailed, you could see every petal softly lay on top of the others. The vine even had small thorns facing away from the finger so that you wouldn't poke yourself. The diamond was tinted lightly with red so that it was red rose, representing true love. My eyes swelled with tears as he slipped the ring onto my finger. It fit so perfectly and it felt smooth and comfortable. "So?" he asked quietly. I looked up at him, he was biting his lip like a third grader waiting for their report card. Tears swelled in my eyes and escaped, flowing down my cheeks.

I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes, and took the ring off my finger. I placed it back in the case and put it in his hand. Now his eyes filled with tears. "Why?" he asked, trying to keep the water in his eyes. "We're soul mates," he whispered sadly. I nodded, "I know," I said through my tears. I started to back away, "but I can't."

© 2009