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It was date night again, the two of you stargazing in the graveyard. No place was nearly as peaceful as a graveyard. However, it took you two slightly squeamish dates for you to realize that and become comfortable with it. The moon was full tonight, which was a beautiful sight for the both of you.
Damien brought over his favorite red wine with him, some crystals, and a blanket for the two of you to sit down on. He laid the crystals close by himself so they could charge up in the moonlight. After all, he was a witch, but the two of you had that conversation already. It didn’t bother you, even though you didn’t understand it all too much.
The two of you spent most of the night talking about anything that came to mind while enjoying a really great tasting bottle of wine. Some of it was about what constellations Damien learned about recently or how he made certain constellations as a child. Other parts of it was him trying to explain how the moon’s energy could charge crystals. He did most of the talking this time, but you were more than happy to hear him talk about things that he was really passionate about. The magic stuff was still hard for you to grasp, but you were starting to get a better understanding of it this time.
Eventually, a gradual silence fell upon the two of you. It wasn’t one filled with awkwardness, but rather ease and comfort. In a way, you wanted to disrupt the silence, but you knew better than to speak unnecessarily. Besides, this silence was one you enjoyed since Damien was laying down right by your side.
“____,” Damien said your name suddenly with a smile on his face, still looking up at the stars.
You turned to face him, curious. “What’s up buttercup?”
His face instantly went red, still getting used to being called by pet names. After briefly composing himself, he resumed, “Well… have you ever thought of the moon as something like… a symbol of the life cycle?”
You thought about it for a moment.“... Is this more magic stuff?”
“No, darling. Well… I guess it could be. I think of it like this,” he said as he sat up. “Okay, so do you know how the moon cycle works?”
“... The moon starts off big and then ends by going black?”
Damien thought for a moment. “Could you wait for a moment?” He pulled out his phone from his pocket, eagerly typing something in. You were curious about where this was going.
It didn’t take long for his eyes to light up. “Aha!” He showed you his phone and you sat up to look at it as he explained excitedly, “Okay, so here is a diagram of the moon cycle. It all technically starts once the New Moon is there, when the moon is dark.”
This was already pulling you in. Thank Google for quick search results. “Oh okay, that’s cool! So, how does this work with your life cycle idea?”
You saw joy in Damien’s eyes as he went on, “Well, once that moon is new, I think of it like a child being born. They have a chance at living life with a fresh start. Then the moon progresses to the Waning Crescent, which could be like a child aging into their toddler years. Once the half-moon is reached, that is like when the child is now an adolescent. Does this make sense so far? I apologize if I make it sound confusing.”
“No this makes sense!” You might be slightly confused, but you want to hear him keep talking.
Damien nodded. “Then when you get to the Waning Gibbous, that’s when the adolescent has reached their young adult years. Then the Full Moon is comparable to the middle of one’s life. All of the moon phases following it would be a gradual progression of the person aging until, eventually, the moon is made new again and they have eventually passed on. This is, of course, assuming that the person hasn’t passed on from reasons other than ‘old age,’ if that makes sense?”
“Hm… So each moon phase basically is a symbol for different stages of a person’s life? Almost like that riddle about walking on four legs, then two legs, and finally three legs?”
“I guess it could be similar to that, but that is not exactly how I picture it. After all, that’s more of a riddle.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Damien looked back up into the sky. Silence was among the two of you again until he broke it once more. “If you think about it, the moon cycle could not only symbolize the cycle of one’s life, but also the cycle of the various trials and tribulations that one goes through during their life.”
Things were starting to click in your mind. “So everything has a start and end, including the journeys in between?”
Damien nodded, “Most definitely.”
You were met with silence again. At this point, you learned to accept it without paying much attention to it anymore. After all, seeing how the moonlight lit up Damien’s eyes told you that he was having a good time. However, it seemed like he wanted to say more. You let the silence continue so he could speak without feeling pressured.
But the silence went on.
And on.
Without any interruption.
Damien almost looked like he was itching to speak now.
Dames, please just say something, I know you want to-
“____, I know that we have been together for two years now, but… I still get flustered just thinking about asking you like this…”
Is he proposing? OH MY, IS HE PROPOSING TO ME?
Damien tucked some of his hair behind his ear, taking in a deep breath. Once he exhaled, he finally started, “I remember when we first met. You were brand new to the cul de sac, and it was a delight meeting both you and your daughter Amanda at the barbecue. I could tell that she got a lot of her energy from you.”
You chuckled, taking pride from it. “She did have more fire than me though, that’s for sure.”
“She’s wonderful, truly,” Damien said with a bright, yet nervous, smile. “Then after we met, we went out a couple of times, just to get to know each other better, and I had such a pleasant time with you, no matter where we went or what we did. Over time, I realized that I wanted more than to form a friendly bond with you. I wanted to build a romantic relationship with you, and you don’t know how happy I was when you agreed to be my partner.”
You gently placed a hand on his own, a soft look in your eyes. The tension was building up between the both of you, but you could see Damien’s nervousness ready to burst out of him.
Finally, with a final sigh, he used his free hand to hold onto your other hand. Everything around the two of you was especially silent.
And all that you could hear was:
“Will you stay with me, through every cycle of the moon, through all of life’s trials and tribulations, and through whatever else life may put in our way?”
You were in shock.
He proposed? To me?
Before you even realized it, you were already tightly hugging Damien. “I could never imagine how life would be like if you weren’t there to experience it with me, Dames.”
“So that’s…?”
“Yes, I’d love to be your husband,” you said, releasing Damien from the hug. The both of you sealed the proposal with a kiss, more than excited to start a new chapter, and your own New Moon.