[Hanako] The Love We Shared

The Love We Shared


Tonight isn't any different than any other night. Hanako and I step out into the crisp night air, myself having a heavy winter jacket draped over my typical sweatervest to keep me warm. Hanako is sporting her usual heavy coat and earmuffs, the earmuffs being especially handy on a cold night like tonight. We lock hands as our feet set off along the sidewalk, our path only given light by the dim streetlights that line the road outside of our apartment.

This has become an average night for us, even as we head into the early months of winter. We both get off our shifts from work and have some alone time to get cleaned up after a long day, her job as an interior designer - something that certainly came as a surprise to me - and my job as a medical physicist both can end up being tiring and messy.

Generally, we take a short period of time to talk about our day at work. She's become fairly bouncy and excited around me, although she never does these things around people outside of our household. I don't think it'd be proper to say she's developed the personality of an excited little girl, but more or less just someone who enjoys my company. She'll tell me her stories about her various projects, which always seem to get her very emotionally involved; whether it be designing something for an aspiring business or just a close friend's living room, there's always something that gets her blood pumping good.

In the past couple of months though, she's decided that rather than listening to my pointless rambling of boring scientific lectures that we should take nightly walks together. I certainly can't say I would ever deny the opportunity to relax, hold hands and get some fresh air with my beautiful girlfriend.
I know I keep saying tonight isn't any different.

But in truth, I'm lying.

Thankfully she hasn't noticed yet, but there's a slight bulge in my pocket on the far side away from her. A small box containing the majority of my pay from the past half year or so; a shimmering diamond ring. Maybe not the biggest rock that I could have gotten for her, but we've honestly never been much for spending a lot of money on each other. We always buy things that will benefit us both, not gifts that only really have value to one of us.

I pull out of my daze as we round a corner, which is where I decide to take a slight detour from our usual route. Hanako gives me a look of surprise as I pull her to the left, walking towards a secluded park on the outskirts of our residential area.

"H-Hisao?" Her voice shivers a bit due to the temperature outside while her arm tugs at my hand to have me slow my pace a bit.

"Yes, my love?"

"W-where are we going?

"You'll see soon enough." She shoots me another quizzical glace, but I wave it off as I lead her towards the park. I know where I want to pop the question, certainly, and it's at a special location that we haven't paid a visit in a long while.

Within what feels like five minutes, we arrive at the park, adorned with bare trees along each side of the path that runs through its center. I finally slow my pace to a casual stroll and remove my hand from hers, draping my arm around her shoulders and bringing her nice and close to me as we take in the scenery around us. Snow covered trees are illuminated by the light from various lamps, revealing one of the most gorgeous sights I've seen in my entire life.

I steal a peek at the girl who has her arms wrapped around my body, her eyes and mouth open in amazement at what's been laid out before her. I feel my heart starting to race as the moment begins to approach at a rapid pace, my left hand finding a place over the bump in my pocket. Before I can start talking to her as a lead in, I'm met with two hands on my shoulders, pulling me into a long and passionate kiss.

After what feels like an hour, she breaks away, much to my disappointment. But, I'd have to say the sight before me is far from disappointing. Our foreheads are still connect as she wraps her arms around my neck, a light blush rising to her cheeks in reaction. I pull back and look up to the sky as I notice a snowflake fall beside me, many more following it.

Rather than offering to return home though, I take Hanako by the hand and lead her a bit further up the path to a bench. I offer a seat to her, which she accepts, before flopping down on the bench. I draw her close to my chest, which causes her face to show a somewhat worried look. After a moment of thinking, I realize that she hears how erratic and fast my heartbeat is, the anticipation of the upcoming moment beginning to make me feel light-headed.

"Hisao, is something wrong? Your h-heart..." She trails off, and the question just makes the pace pick up even more. I stagger around the question, beginning my lead up to the big moment.

"H-Hanako, you remember the importance of this spot?" She looks puzzled for a minute before her face brightens up in realization, a shy smile forming on her lips.

"Of course I d-do. This is w-where we came and sat after m-moving in together." I smile at her recollection of events, as it was a tender moment for the two of us. We sat here under the stars during the summer that we moved in together, talking about our future and having one of the most personal moments of our entire relationship. I remember it as if it had just happened yesterday, especially the tender kiss I received before our departure back home. Shaking myself out of my current train of thought, I get back to the matter at hand.

"What does this spot mean to you?" She picks her head up and faces me, shifting around uncomfortably. I feel like hitting myself in the head, as I know what the next question is going to be.

"Why are you a-asking so many of these question, Hisao?"

This is it.

This is that glaring opportunity.

"I've only got one more question for you tonight, just bear with me." I find myself standing up from my seat, which out of normality, Hanako follows suit. With her standing before me, flakes of snow dancing around her perfect figure and a look of innocent confusion reflecting in her eyes, I drop down to one knee and reach into my pocket. I remove the black box and hold it up to her, opening it up to her. Her hands fly to her mouth, covering it as if she was about to scream. I smile like an idiot as I say the words that have been weighing me down for months.

"Hanako Ikezawa, will you marry me?" I deliver the line flawlessly. Her hands stay over her mouth and her eyes widen, shimmering nearly as bright as the diamond does under the light from the street lamp above us. Tears are flowing freely from her eyes as she collapses down onto her knees and tackles me backwards onto the ground, nearly making me drop the ring. She embraces me tightly and cries the most happy tears I've ever seen in my life, repeating one simple word over and over again.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She pulls back slightly and dips her lips to meet mine, her smile warming my body with a sensation that I've never felt before. After our moment of pure love, she breaks off, drawing hearty laughter from me as I realize that she didn't even let me go through with the most important step.

"W-what's so funny?"

"You didn't even let me put the ring on your finger!" I continue to laugh as she finally offers me her hand, an embarrassed blush rising her face. The embarrassment quickly fades, though, as the ring slides onto her ring finger, her hand pulling up to her face as she stares at it in amazement. After a moment of admiration, she embraces me once again, a muffled question rising from my chest.

"H-Hisao?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Hanako."

She pushes up on her tip toes as our lips meet again, the snowflakes falling around us beginning to pick up in frequency. I break off with a smile and nuzzle my nose against hers, a gesture that earns me an absolutely adorable smile.

"Let's head home, I'll make you some tea to warm you up." This earns me a kiss on the cheek as our hands link together once again, my fingers feeling the sensation of rubbing against her new piece of jewelry. We set off down the path, heading back to our apartment as winter makes its presence known around us.

I don't think this path isn't just leading back to our home anymore.

It's leading us on a path to a bright future.

Together.



'The Love We Shared' is a song produced by Kill Paris