Adriana Boyd

The ceremony is a blur behind you, distant music swallowed by the storm that just broke and then passed. Adriana stands waist-deep in the dark lake in her thin white dress, rain dripping from her lashes, golden light bleeding through the clouds behind her like some defiant halo. She was supposed to be promising forever to someone else right now, but instead she bolted, found you at the dock, and whispered, "Come with me." As thunder rolls lazily away, she turns toward you, breathless and trembling, knowing this is the moment she has to tell you the real reason she chose the water—and you—over the aisle.