Not Without You

bonus chapter #1

Aria

Colombia is one of the last places on earth I thought I would ever travel to. I wanted to travel to Thailand to lounge on the beach, to Greece to spend my days exploring Greek mythology, to Italy to indulge in pasta. Never, not once, did I think I would be trekking through forty-seven kilometres of the coastal jungle in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains and fighting off copious amounts of mosquitos. Thank God I updated my vaccinations before departing from Canada. The last thing I need is some disease transmitted to me by these goddamned mosquitos. Seriously, they're driving me crazy. I think they're attracted to the build-up of sunscreen, sweat, and repellent.

However, the beauty of Colombia is just too much to keep my attention focused on the annoying mosquitos.

So far, Leo, Eliza, Mom, and I have done several different hikes with several different groups, adding up to the forty-seven kilometres. Yesterday, we started a three-day trek that's supposed to give us picturesque views of La Tagua, Mirador de Cerro Kennedy, and, finally, Panku Sacred Waterfall. So far, picturesque can't even justify what we've seen. Colombia, despite the mosquitos, is absolutely stunning. I'm glad Leo convinced me to come here. To be honest, I was already half sold on coming here when he pulled up the pictures online, but I was entirely devoted to this trip the moment he told me about how much his mom has always wanted to come here. How Eliza and Leon had dreamt of visiting this place for many, many years.

This trip has been amazing. I don't want it to end. I love being able to spend time with Leo, Eliza, and Mom, and the three of us keep teasing Leo about being the only man on this trip. Benn was originally supposed to come along, but after learning about all the scary things (spiders, snakes, et cetera), he chickened out and told us to enjoy ourselves. He also told me to make sure I find the right time to propose to Leo. As well as to keep it a secret from him in order to make sure it's a surprise. Suffice to say, Benn has told me a lot of things, despite his inexperience in the proposal section. As of right now, Mom and Dad, Eliza, Nathan, Benn, Colson, Scarlett, and my aunt and uncle are the only ones who know about my plan. It sounds like a long list of people, and I suppose it is, but they're all people that are very close to me and Leo. Nathan even gave me his wedding ring for Leo to wear and me his wife's ring; he said it was time to pass them down to the next generation. So, there are no issues there, with the people I care about knowing.

What I do have an issue with is the timing of proposing to Leo. There have been several good chances to do so, but I've been interrupted each time. I'm trying to believe that those times were interrupted for a valid reason. I'm trying so, so hard. The only thing is, I'm beginning to get a little frustrated with it all. We've been dating for five years now, living together and doing all the other things long-term couples do. We've even discussed the possibility of kids in the future, which we're both on board for.

So why can't I find the opportune moment to propose to him?

I pause at the top of the hill to catch my breath, gazing out at the view before me. We're almost at the waterfall, meaning the area surrounding me is dense with lush forest and uneven terrain. It's so dense, in fact, that the sun barely peeks through, easing the scorching summer sun.

Because I'm ahead of my group, I slide my backpack from my shoulders and place it next to my feet. I lean down and begin to rummage through it, looking for my water bottle as well as Leon's bucket list. I find the list first. The paper is worn and wrinkled, stained with splashes of ketchup and droplets of rain, but every checkmark and every word is still visible. After we finished the list, Leo tucked it away at Tenille's house for safekeeping and because keeping it in Whistler just seemed like the right thing to do. However, when Leo finished school and moved to Calgary to be with me, we went on a trip to Whistler to say hi to everyone and I took it. I took it because there was one thing on that list we were not able to check off: Leon's goal to marry Eliza. I still don't know how Leo is going to react when he sees that I've crossed that sentence out with a red marker and replaced it with Marry Leo, but I'm hoping he sees my point in all this. Our marriage (if he says yes and if I ever find the right time to ask him), is to make up for what was lost. I know it's not the same as Leon and Eliza getting married, but at least, to some degree, the bucket list will be complete.