Chapter 25: Epilogue
"What the Photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once: the Photograph mechanically repeats what could never be repeated existentially."
Roland Barthes
After two years…
Lexa squinted as a salty sweat drop almost fell into her eye; it was high noon, the sun was up and she scrunched low to capture a photograph. It was always difficult to capture an image of a moving subject, every photographer knows that. After running around, genuflecting on one knee and ducking low on the ground to follow her subject; Lexa has finally gotten her subject in a standstill. Trying to be as stealthy as possible, Lexa even tried to hold her breath as she took shot after shot. It was an awe-inspiring possibly senior tabby cat; it finally lounged under a concrete bench and carefully licked itself clean.
"There you are!" A booming voice came from behind which eventually startled the furry creature causing it to run away and disappear into the ruins of a building.
"So much for being subtle and stealthy." Lexa grumbled as she plopped unto the ground and inspected if she got at least one good photo of the tabby cat that she has been following for the last hour.
"I don't get why you keep pestering that tabby, there are so many cats in the area." Clarke motioned to the lounging felines in door fronts, under the shade of the trees and the gutters in general.
"Have you watched the Lion King?" Lexa muttered.
"The Broadway version or the Disney one?" Clarke queried, to which Lexa felt was slowly turning into a joke.
"Whichever!" Lexa roared. "Well, that guy, the guy I've been following since we arrived, the guy you chased away. Well, he was Mufasa, he was the alpha, and he was the biggest one." Lexa explained as she continued to look into the digital screen of her camera.
"Well, I don't think so." Clarke mumbled as she sat of the concrete bench taking out a juice box from her backpack.
"What do you mean?" Lexa stood from the ground moving to sit beside Clarke. They sat on a shaded area under the expanse of the tall bamboo behind them.
"I don't think he's the alpha, he's just the chubbiest. I bet the actual alpha in this village is Scar over there!" Clarke pointed out into an equally enormous tuxedo cat lounging at the door front of the visitor center, he had a deep scar above his left eye.
"Hmm, I think it's possible." Lexa was somehow convinced as she took the juice box that Clarke had given her.
The Traveler's Sketchbook series had definitely gone well. Indra had indeed hired both Lexa and Clarke to work on the succeeding volumes focusing on Maritime Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the past year. After her graduation, Clarke proceeded to work for Titus as his head curator in his gallery. Early this year, Clarke and Lexa ensued working on the East Asia volume of their sketchbook series. They were pegged to travel to Mongolia, China, then to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea and eventually in Hong Kong and Macau for the last leg. Currently, they found themselves in the quiet rustic village of Houtong, north of Taipei. Along the Keelung River, the Houtong village was once a mining village until the 1990s. Just in 2008, the tourist scene was brought back to life when a local villager started to take care of stray cats which eventually became part of the village's identity. As visitors arrive by train, various cats of different colors and sizes which roamed around the vicinity greeted the strangers. Some were friendly but the others remained indifferent or lazy. The district was also lined with quaint cat cafes and souvenir shops which sold goodies for cats and of course, also for people.
The duo sat in silence for a while, admiring the stillness of their surroundings. Lexa observed a group of kindergarteners from afar. They were probably on a field trip, they approached the tourist center in a single file; their teacher marching up front. The children wore colorful t-shirts and shorts, some of them wore hats but most of them carried small backpacks.
"Hey Clarke, have you ever wondered about kids?" Lexa suddenly blurted out.
"What about kids? Are you asking me about what I think of kids in general or whether I would want to have one in the future?" Clarke inquired as she sipped from her juice box.
"They're cute aren't they?" Lexa stated without even clarifying her previous question.
"Yeah, they're cute, until they start pooping and talking back and jumping around." Clarke muttered.
"Would you like to have one?" Lexa suddenly stared back into Clarke.
"You're asking me as if we can just pick out one from that bunch and take one home." Clarke guffawed.
"No, I'm serious, I mean in the future, maybe." Lexa stammered.
"Well, the world keeps getting better with you around, so maybe, someday." Clarke replied as she grabbed Lexa's hand to intertwine her fingers with her own.
"But seriously, would you want that little boy in a blue shirt with apple haircut or that little girl in a jean jumper with that funny hat?" Lexa continued to joke.
"I think I'd like that cute chubby boy at the end of the line, he seems like he's fascinated with something else instead of listening to his teacher." Clarke points out.
They remained that way until it was time to chase some cats again as the sun continued to set and it was finally time to hop on the last train heading back to downtown Taipei.
After six months…
Clarke left the gallery early, it was about to rain, the skies were grey and people were rushing to wherever they were headed for the evening. The Polis subway was bustling, Clarke wanted to get home before her dinner date with Lexa, Lexa was probably still at work. It was Lexa's birthday, Clarke wanted to make this year special. She had planned for a quiet dinner in Lexa's favorite teppanyaki restaurant where she'll later on reveal that she had brought tickets for a surprise trip to Istanbul in the following month. Clarke had already asked for Gustus' help to negotiate a vacation leave with Indra, to which Indra immediately approved. Lexa always talked about visiting Istanbul, she was always fascinated with the East meets West culture in the region.
After her arduous adventure at the subway, Clarke fumbled for her keys at their doorstep. Yes, it was their apartment, after Clarke's graduation and finally acquiring the job from Titus at the gallery; Lexa has asked Clarke to move in with her. With Lexa being away for work most of the time, she has eventually turned the spare bedroom into her own studio as she continued to work on her own art and the illustrations for the upcoming volumes of The Traveler's Sketchbook. Their shared studio space was typically lined with large prints of travel photographs and half-finished watercolor paintings. As Clarke turned the key into the keyhole, she noticed that the door was left unlocked. She tried to recall if she had somehow forgotten to latch it the previous morning but she was sure that she secured the door, she always checks twice when she leaves the apartment. As Clarke opened the door slowly, she took out her umbrella from her bag, preparing to bash any intruder that she might come across with. But to her surprise she noticed that all the warm lights were turned on, there were lighted candles along the foyer and the living room and soft jazz music played in the background. Clarke tiptoed as she entered the threshold, there were candles, it could only mean one thing; Lexa was home. But they were only a few hours away until their date, Lexa could not have set up this elaborate scheme and leave the house with lighted candles for hours. As Clarke neared the bedroom, she only noticed that the music kept getting louder, the door was slightly left ajar. Oblivious to her surroundings, Lexa was humming and was lighting more scented candles on top of their dresser, she had her back against the door. Clarke had mixed emotions, she could not understand what was happening before her.
"Are you cheating on me?" Clarke knew that she uttered it as a joke but she eventually realized how scared she was of Lexa's answer.
"Geez, you're not even supposed to be home yet." Lexa jumped in shock, realizing that she did not notice Clarke enter the apartment.
"Are you expecting someone else?" Clarke asked with a raised eyebrow, dropping her umbrella in the process. "Or is someone else here?" Clarke moved to inspect the rest of the room including the bathroom.
"Really, Clarke? Am I that deceitful?" Lexa stood her ground, smirking at Clarke's antics.
"No, I'm just overreacting, I think. I know you'll never do something like that. But I don't understand, Lex. What's all this? Don't tell me you prepared all of this to surprise me? All the candles, we're just hours away from our date? This doesn't make sense?" Clarke was simply confused at this point.
"Should I say that I'm just one step ahead of you?" Lexa grinned. "And if I wasn't in such a good mood, I would be mad right now since you accused me of infidelity." Lexa crossed her arms, she still remained unmoving.
"What do you mean 'one step ahead of me'? Isn't it your birthday, you're not entitled to surprises, Lex." Clarke mumbled in confusion.
"It's my birthday, I'm entitled to do anything I want." Lexa declared with conviction.
"So, when I phoned Gustus earlier and asked if you were still at the office, you were really here?" Clarke tried to puzzle things together.
"Let's just say, I never really went to the office and spent my day the way I wanted to." Lexa beamed as she eventually bounced on top of their bed.
"So, this means that Gustus has been actually working for you all along eh? That snake!" Clarke suddenly realized that Gustus knew about both their plans for the day but to Lexa's favor.
"Well, Gustus was in fact my friend first." Lexa purred as she stood up and walked towards Clarke. "Anyway, stop being too technical about it, you haven't spoiled anything yet, just that I expected you to arrive much later."
"So, you really anticipated that I'll be dropping by before our date." Clarke mumbled to herself.
"Stop being too methodological, dear. We've been together for years, I know you enough to know your routine. You always head home to freshen up before our date, we live together for crying out loud." At time point, Clarke was still tangled up with what's happening, Lexa held her around her shoulders. "Anyway, since you're a bit out of it, I might as well take advantage of this moment, since my nerves had been killing me the entire day."
Lexa suddenly went on one knee and Clarke gasped as the scene in front of her started to sink in.
"Without much enactment or grandiose actions, since you've caught me red-handed already. Without looking forward to a nostalgic memory or witnessing a scenic overture since we've been to many places in this earth together. Without much flamboyant gestures and over the top expenditure; in our bedroom under the light of my many scented candles, with the space which has bear witness to our fervor and life together, will you grant me the soon to be greatest birthday present by becoming my wife?" As Lexa looked up to Clarke with glassy eyes, she pried open a black velvet box which revealed a plain platinum band.
Clarke covered her mouth with an intake of breath, then she nodded enthusiastically trying to mask her mixed emotions of elation and astonishment.
"Yes, definitely." As she uttered those words, Lexa slid the ring on her finger and bounced up to meet her with an ardent kiss.
"You scared me a bit." Lexa mumbled under her neck.
Suddenly, Clarke realized that she had already prepared for the exact same moment months ago. Too bad Lexa was really one step ahead of her, her surprise was more complicated since it involved a trip outside the country and Turkish coffee to share under a clear sky.
"Well, I was supposed to do this on a later date but I guess, now is also a good time." Clarke removed herself from Lexa's grip. She headed for her sock drawer and fumbled for an envelope and a small brown leather box.
"Had you not inserted another thing in our itinerary this evening, my plans could have gone smoothly. You see, my actual gift entailed a trip to Istanbul in the coming month and secretly whispering those four words in your ear as we head out to a quaint coffee shop to enjoy Turkish coffee. But since you had always been an over achiever and you were able to beat me to it, I guess this further supports my answer." Clarke opens the small box revealing a simple rose gold band. "However, the offer for authentic Turkish coffee still stands." Clarke opens the envelope and discloses two plane tickets.
"Can I just show you how much I love you, Clarke Griffin?" Lexa allows Clarke to slip the ring on to Lexa's finger and Lexa takes and carefully places their plane tickets on top of their dresser, away from all the candles, obviously. "We can talk about dinner after I'm done with you." Lexa slurred as she pushed Clarke unto their bed.
"I would love that very much." Clarke replied in a sultry tone, inviting Lexa to come nearer.
As the couple shut their door to enjoy a discreet evening to themselves, thus begins their soon to be new adventure as future wife and wife.
Author's Note: Thank you so much in accompanying me in this journey, it had been such a pleasure to receive good feedback especially since it's my first time to upload, start and finish something of this length. Let me know what you think. Again, thank you for appreciating my work!