---

Beautiful didn’t quite do her justice. 

Every time he saw her smile, eyes twinkling like stars, he fell a little more in love with her. And when she leaned over him as he read a book, her hair forming a curtain around their faces, he was certain there would never be a day that went by without her in it. 

She bopped his nose with hers. “What are you reading?” 

“Some treatise on the role of globalization in evolving beauty standards,” he replied, stealing a kiss. 

Her giggle was brighter than the sunlight streaming in through the open window. “And how is it?” she asked, eyes on his. 

“It has some interesting ideas, but I think the author is rather biased against advancements in media advertising.” 

When he kissed her a second time, he revelled in the quiet sigh that escaped her mouth. It hadn’t always been easy for her to be so affectionate; years had passed with him threading his fingers through her hair to coax her out of her grief, but every second with her was never a second wasted. 

After a few moments, she pulled away. “Do you want to go out today?” 

“What did you have in mind?” At her grin, he groaned, but her anticipation tugged on the corners of his mouth nonetheless. Even when they were children, they had been able to communicate without words. “Just don’t wander off into the shark exhibit without telling me again, okay?” 

She pressed her lips to his jaw. “I make no promises.” 

---

He lost her within minutes of entering the aquarium. There was a new species of jellyfish he had been studying in his spare time, and as soon as he turned away, she slipped from his grasp. 

To the shark exhibit, of course. He knew that just as he knew the exact path she took. 

With her back to him as she cooed at the hammerhead pup, he could simply admire her. Seventeen years since they met on the schoolyard — though, brawled was likely a better word choice than met — and there was always something new about her.

“Do you remember that time in the market, when you bought me this ring?” she asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, her head resting on his heart. The handcrafted gold flower on her finger glinted in the dim light of the shark tank. “Remember what you said to me?” 

He smiled as the memory was conjured. “Just pick one. Any of them suit you.” 

“And do you remember what happened after that?” 

Catching her fingers between his, he pressed his lips to her temple. “After you insisted I be the one to pick a ring for you, I chose this one.” 

“And?” 

Their eyes met, and he saw their whole lives ahead of them. “I told you that if you were ever lost, to look at this ring and remember that I’ll find you no matter how far you go – in this life and beyond.”