-Meet me at the old railroad next to the green barn outside the village, said Beca.
-Why there? asked Tom
-I love the spot. It’s beautiful, sunny, with lots of flowers and bright colours.
-As you wish.

Beca and Tom have been dating for a while. Their affair was the subject of all the gossip in the little town. Beca was the daughter of the schoolmaster and Tom, a newcomer who just had opened a bookstore.

Beca had had another boyfriend, a local: the Pastor’s son. Her new adventure had fallen like a bombshell in the small community of the little town. The scandal was so big that Beca asked Tom to meet him in secret places and don’t show together in public. She had a nasty scene at his home with his parents, and many people had stopped talking to her.

Tom also had problems with some customers, but he didn’t understand those reactions and Beca precautions. He loved her madly and thought that nobody could stop him or make him hide his feelings. People in the little town should get used to the new reality. But he followed Beca’s little hiding strategy because he wanted to please her and be with her as much as possible.
Sunday morning, he went to the spot she had chosen with a small bouqué and a ring in his pocket. He was determined to end that hiding relationship and propose to her to marry him.

The train

He found her in the middle of the railroad, smiling, inviting him to join her. He did. All around, there were flowers and green foliage. In front of their spot, there was a curve in the railroad.
Tom was approaching her slowly, searching for the right words for his proposal when he heard it.

The train.

Beca was smiling sadly with her arm extended towards him, inviting him to join her to stay in the middle of the track at the encounter of the machine no matter what.

-Let’s be together forever, she said.

Tom ran as fast as he could and pushed her girlfriend out of the railroad just in time to save her life from the train that was coming full speed.

-let’s be together forever, Tom said when they recovered their breath after escaping a sure death

-But not haw you were planning, continued Tom. We love each other. Marry me, and let’s get out of this place to rebuild our lives.

-And my parents?

-With time, they will understand what was best for you if they see you’re happy. Do you think I can make you happy?

-Yes, I do

-Then don’t ever think about what happened today at the railroad or about the gossip in your town. Let’s live our lives and be free.

-You win

-This was not the way I planned to propose to you, but here I am: will you marry me? said Tom sitting in the mud by the railroad with his clothes dirty and his bleeding hands holding the ring.

-Yes! she said.
And they didn’t go back to the village that day or the next week, or for a long time.

FFFC: 168