It all started on the grounds of Cardinal Newman High School. Caitlyn and Arvil first met in a shared Science class back in grade 9, and as you could imagine, there was poking, there was homework copying, there was binder hiding, there was textbook sharing, there was eraser stealing, there were doughnut bribery for participation marks, the list goes on and on. The youth called this "flirting"; we called it war. And yet, years went on with continuous playful banter until the summer of 2015 - the two made it official. From that point on, they snowballed. There was a talent night, following Caitlyn home every single day, teaching math to her younger siblings, attending all sorts of university open houses - despite Arvil knowing he'd simply be attending the same University as Caitlyn; attending York university, self-inviting to family trips across the world, graduating from university, taking over a full-on bakery business, doing a whole renovation at said business, owning a home, renovating said home, and finally having their wedding on our 11th anniversary - an important number to the two of them.

Japan 2025, in the quiet city of Kyoto. Unbeknownst to Caitlyn, Arvil had planned to propose bright and early during a morning hike into the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The two ventured onto the first available train. All the shops were closed. Train carts were empty. The moon is still shining. It was the start of their second official day in Japan. Having arrived, knowing this was the best time to be there, the forest had a peaceful silence. Birds just waking up, other tourists were nowhere to be seen; the occasional local walking their dog - Arvil knew this was perfect. However, having already walked through the entirety of the forest, Arvil began to panic - knowing the sun had already risen, it was inevitable for the forest to erupt in its attraction. Already taking their pictures, seemingly living inside an anime - it was almost dream-like - but Arvil had to lock in. It was go time. Brainstorming - trying to find the perfect frame, Arvil tried to envision where to propose. Finally, within the middle of a perfectly winding section of the path, having the shot perfectly framed by Caitlyn, they tried to take a seemingly innocent video for their archives. However, with the luck of Caitlyn’s gravitation to filming nature, a bird begins to call. Instantly, Caitlyn aims her phone to zoom in on the bird. This was it. Now or …. later?… but it had to be now. With Caitlyn, fully hyper fixated on the bird, Arvil goes down on one knee; clam-shell ring case opened; Caitlyn still distracted. Arvil, knowing his camera is still filming the two of them, looks at the camera - like a character breaking the 4th wall of a movie - chortling at Caitlyn’s typical “distracted by a bird” behaviour. In an attempt to gain back her attention, Arvil tugs on the edge of her jacket, “Hey, use my phone to film it instead. I can zoom in more”, fails. Finally, after the satiation of her 15-second clip of a bird chirping within the trees - turns around and finds Arvil on one knee, followed by the question, “Will you marry me?” https://youtu.be/FCFoJ7v9Kdc?si=ecOVVlZ6Lzfy6JCZ&t=1356