Riverside

“Nice to meet you... I’m Sibelle...” Her voice was quiet and her face was the picture of nervousness. Her short brown hair curled around her face as usual. She wore a nice dress and blue coat along with her usual large purse that she used at school. It seemed to be stuffed packed with many things.

Reohn laughed at her. “You don’t have to be so nervous. If we’re going to be married, we have to get to know each other pretty well.”

Sibelle was a bundle of nerves; her thoughts were racing already. It looks like his casual outfit was rather light. Wasn’t he cold? Was she supposed to bring him an extra jacket? I should have thought of this! Wait, that’s silly. I don’t have any jackets that would fit him. Clearly, he just runs a bit warmer than average. Maybe I should take my coat off to show strength or something? But it wouldn’t look good tied around my waist. Still, I’m freezing already. If he runs warmer, maybe he can hug me later...

She blushed. “You’re right, huh? Aha...” Mentally, she was screaming.

They met outside in the evening. Just outside of the main campus where they worked was a government owned plot of land by the forest that boarded the town. It was safe there for a first date and by night there was virtually no one around. Their plan was to walk by the river where there’s a nice viewing area and get to know each other. They started to walk off together. The sound of leaves underfoot was all they heard for a while. Neither knew what to say.

“You know... Are you sure you’re ok with this marriage? This must be pretty sudden.” Reohn suddenly asked her. He found it hard to act like his usual confident persona despite what he said earlier. The whole situation was still obviously bothering him for many reasons.

Sibelle put her hands together in front of her chest. “To say it feels like a dream would be putting it lightly. Sometimes I worry I’m going to wake up to reality.”

Reohn grimaced. That was a lot of pressure to put on someone she barely knew. The heroic persona was easy to flaunt when he knew he was only going to talk to someone for a few minutes. Getting married to someone means living with them for the rest of his life.

Sibelle saw his face and looked depressed. “I’m sorry. I’ll bet there was someone else you would have rather chosen than me. I’m pretty plain and not good at talking.”

Reohn waved his hands. “No, that’s not it! I accepted too, didn’t I? I’m just not used to going out... This is my first time doing this kind of thing as well so I feel out of my element...”

“Oh. You didn’t seem like that type. You’ve never had someone you liked before?”

What type was she talking about, he wondered worryingly. “Well... I guess I did have someone like that, but they’re not here anymore...” Reohn painfully uttered. “So, I’ve just been trying not to think about romance and things, but I’m getting too old for that apparently. What about you?”

Sibelle awkwardly tried to start a sentence but couldn’t find the right words to say. She decided to pull a folded up piece of paper from her purse. She had to really dig around before finding it. The picture unfolded to reveal a poster of a masked man riding a horse. It looked old and worn.

Before she could say anything, Reohn excitedly made noises of appreciation and pointed at the picture. Wah, I’ve never seen him look like that before, she thought. So cute. Her face lit up as well.

“Oh, that’s Sole Ranger! I loved that show!” He practically yelled at her. “Why do you carry it around with you?”

“Um, this is my first crush, ha ha...” She nervously announced. It looked like it pained her to say out loud. The news stunned Reohn. She continued to fill the silence. “I’ve liked him ever since I was little. I carry this poster everywhere I go. I thought no one could compare so I never really took an interest in anyone. I took a job teaching because I believed I’d never get married.”

He pointed to himself smiling. “Do you think I kind of resemble him? Is that why you took an interest in me?” Sibelle made some fluttered noise and nodded. Reohn was immensely happy to be compared to his childhood idol.

“Is... is there anything about me that you particularly like?” Her voice barely audible as she put the poster carefully back in her purse.

Reohn looked up at the sky, thinking about his answer. It had turned completely dark while they were walking. The white moon contrasted the black sky. A cool wind made Sibelle shiver. He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. She made a small noise of shock.

“I didn’t know anything about you when I agreed to this and I admit I was nervous, but that’s changed! You’re cute and fun to talk to! I want to spend the rest of my life with you!”

“Ah... I want to spend the rest of my life with you too...” She gripped his hand tightly. Just enjoy the moment, Sibelle told herself. Stop thinking depressing thoughts. The silence only lasted a while longer before she had to speak. “...will the war take you away from me soon?”

“Hm, well I can’t say for certain, but there’s not really much combat going on. We are just threatening each other right now. You don’t have to worry about them, they’re just crazies who believe in witchcraft and things. We always had the upper hand.”

“It’s all so scary to think about...”

“It’s ok, I said...” Even if it wasn’t, there’s no point in worrying. Girls are so emotional. “Forget about that! What’s in your purse? It’s been making sounds with every step.”

Sibelle figured they were close enough to the river now. They could hear it in the distance. She had planned to surprise him with this when they got there, but now seemed like a better time. She stepped away from him and crouched by the ground. She dug around in her purse while more folded up papers were coming out. Some were white while others were tan. Finally, she pulled out a small cute box. She opened it to reveal several various types of cookies. They looked homemade.

“Haha, the best way to a guy’s heart is with food, right?” She said with a smile.