She smoothed her hair back, messy from fixing her room, and made sure she looked presentable enough even in shorts and a tee. There was no time to put on slippers, she couldn't find her slippers, they were always missing. She hurried to the gate, bare feet padding on the wood, the marble, the concrete and grass. She pulled the gate open to see who it was.

The world stopped and time stood still--

He was standing at her gate, a faint smile on his lips. His eyes shone with shimmering joy and unshed tears, with glowing hope and unabated love. And on one hand he held a pink rose.

Her eyes filled with tears, and a trembling hand rose to her lips. She opened them, to say his name, but her voice was lost, lost somewhere in the sea of feelings that seemed to drown everything around her, everything inside her.

He held out the rose. I'm yours.

She opened her mouth again, but nothing would come out. Her tears spilled.

He nodded, his eyes awash with his own emotions. Yes. For good.

She brushed her tears away, laughed through the water, and reached out to take the flower. To take his heart.