I am officially engaged!
I got the most amazing ring from an amazing man. He was the one who picked the ring himself and to be honest, I was surprised that I ended up loving it. I thought it was too big, too pee-like in color and too circular for me, lol. I mean, I love the man, why would I dare not love the ring?
It was such a funny story because while on a call, he asked me randomly about my opinions regarding engagement rings; what kind of ring I prefer or even what stone. That question honestly made me anxious and I think I panicked a little bit because he just casually blurted it out. We were just randomly talking about our day. Then and there, I told him that I think I really want to have a labradorite or a citrine for my stone. I have always been averse towards diamonds because it doesn’t have a meaning or any significance for me. As for labradorite and citrine, I’ve been eyeing them since my courses in Mineralogy, lol. Labradorite reminds me of the northern lights and how it plays with light (labradorescence, duh?) and as for citrine, it is one of the rarest minerals in the world. Real citrine stones, in my opinion, are freaks of nature, lol. There is only a certain condition that this baby can form.
After I told him that, I tried to change the conversation but damn, that really took a toll on me. I thought about it for days. It will be something that I will wear until we tie the knot so it should be something that I really like. After maybe two weeks of sitting on it, I sent him a message that I wanted something simple. I told him that I didn’t want any big stones or anything and that I would be happy with that. On his part, he panicked after receiving my message. He already ordered the ring because he was bringing it on his next visit. But then, when I showed him what I was getting for myself for my 31st birthday, he said that he felt a sense of relief. I would be fine with the ring that he chose. (I got myself a sapphire cut lab-grown ruby silver ring. Ruby is my birthstone, hehe).
The proposal was so cute. I mean, I already kinda have a feeling that he was gonna propose soon but I incorrectly guessed that he would probably do it before he goes back to Norway. July is also my birth month so, yeah, I’m kinda all over the place since events and/or schedules are probably related to my birthday celebration. So, one day, after he gave me his gift for my birthday (which was a fucking laptop, by the way, and other small things that I do love and enjoy), he also gave me a card. He said that on the 15th of July, we were gonna visit the UNESCO World Heritage churches in Troodos and then have dinner at a nearby tavern. I was stoked because one of my silly dreams is to visit all the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Europe so there was that.
He was so excited to drive all the way up to Troodos which was weird to me as well haha. I mean, he is also into sightseeing but not to that extent. While we were packing, I actually saw him packed a pullover on his bag and I was like, ‘The fuck, it’s so fucking hot in Cyprus. This dude is crazy’. I was side-eyeing him but then again I remember that this dude brought a raincoat in here and it almost never rains here. Funny because Bergen, Norway is the rainiest city in Europe and in Cyprus, it barely ever rains.
I think he has a particular church in mind to propose to because he sent me a list of churches to visit. I was happy because he was taking initiative with the planning which usually falls on me so I was like, ‘Okay, girl. This guy is giving today’. Anyway, we missed out on one church because I thought it was the other one across the country (they almost all have the same name and Google Maps is also as confused as me) but it was alright.
Once we were inside the Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis Church (St. Nicholas of the Roof), I was somehow left alone in the nave. It is a small church that can probably be used by 20 to 30 people for the celebration of mass. We were the only ones there since the first few tourists that were there with us just left. I was so engrossed at the paintings within the church, the reason why this church is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The ceiling of this 11th-century church was painted with Byzantine religious images which I was looking at and observing when he popped the question. He stood behind me, asked me in English first if I would marry him and then repeated the question in Norwegian. I think he was nervous but as for me, I was a bit perplexed and I even blurted out, ‘No,’ at first (jokingly, of course). Then he asked incredulously if I was serious, evidently surprised by my answer.
I think it was a very personal proposal. We didn’t even have any photos inside the church (since it is not allowed). It was just me and him under the centuries-old painting.
