“It was a story of scheming, chaos, diamonds, and aquatic animals of all sizes.”
Baby otters, jellyfish, and sushi; what do these seemingly innocuous things have in common? Well, they were all instrumental in what was to be the beginning of the biggest adventure in the lives of two not-so-ordinary people named Daniel and Elena. It was a story of scheming, chaos, diamonds, and aquatic animals of all sizes.
Daniel and Elena had been dating for 6 years, they began living together when they both moved to Vancouver for school at Emily Carr University and quickly grew to love the coastal city. One of the favorite places of the couple was the Vancouver Aquarium. The two would frequently visit the Aquarium to see animals of all kinds, but they loved the serene and beautiful calmness of the jellyfish. Daniel had long ago decided to propose to Elena, and so he hatched a plan. A plan to take Elena on a private tour and behind the scenes of the Aquarium after hours and end it with a life-changing question. The plan wouldn’t be easy though, it would require the help of the veterinarians at the Aquarium, as well as the assistance of two adorable baby otters.
Daniel had previously worked with some of the vets at the Aquarium and, under the guise of getting a private tour to see a pair of otter pups that had recently arrived, successfully convinced Elena to join him. They were to arrive at the Aquarium minutes before closing, but Daniel had been so preoccupied with the plans, he forgot about lunch – and so had Elena. When the couple were about to leave for the Aquarium they realized they were starving. In a panic, they ordered ahead and pulled over to the closest restaurant – a sushi place. “Good!” said Daniel, “we can eat in the car, we don’t want to be late!”. Elena shook her head at Daniel and his need to do everything quickly. Once sushi had been acquired, the two continued on their way to the Aquarium. Elena, calm and happily beginning to snack on the sushi as they drove, and Daniel nervous and irate at the traffic that had formed due to a football game nearby. Despite his agitation, Elena did not suspect that Daniel had more grandiose plans than simply seeing otters.
They arrived at the Aquarium and ate the sushi in the car as a light rain began to fall. They briefly discussed the ethical conundrum of eating sushi at the Aquarium before realizing that otters too ate fish and probably wouldn’t care too much. It was time to go in to the Aquarium, there was no turning back now. As they approached the entrance they saw that the gate had been closed. Daniel’s heart sank, had they missed their opportunity? “No” he thought, he would make this happen. He knocked on the ticket window as the teller was about to leave, explaining that they had a meeting with one of the veterinarians. Success! she let them duck under the gate and they were in. The couple was now waiting for their guide inside near the jellyfish. Daniel had planned everything beforehand, they would meet up and do a full circle coming back to the jellies when their guide would make up an excuse to leave the two of them alone with the Aquarium to themselves.
And so the tour began, a preview of the back offices, leading to the medical area and to meet some sea-lions that bellowed with excitement at new friends. Next they saw behind the fish tanks and a giant vat of sea-monkeys, “snacks” their guide explained, “for many of the creatures”. They ventured into the depths of the the Aquarium, or rather, into the secret rooms beside the deep whale tank, underneath the viewing areas. Then it was up, into the trainer area in the tank as Chester, the False Killer Whale swam with his dolphin tank mate to see who had come to say hello. The next stop was the climax of the tour – or so Elena thought – the otters. A steep, winding staircase led the couple and their guide to the otters’ pen. The adult otters separated from the new pups by a gate so they could meet in steps. Elena walked up to the gate, which had large holes in it, big enough to allow the otters to touch and play, but not so big as to allow the otter to fit through it. She put her hand up to one of the holes as one of the otters took notice and began to smell the sushi she had eaten earlier. Its little nose touching her hand as she squealed with delight. How could the day get any better she thought? Little did she know what was to come.
A short time later they returned to the place they had begun, the place that Daniel knew he would ask Elena to marry him. His heart beating hard, he kept his composure as best he could as his hand fidgeted with the box in his pocket. There was no reason for his unease, he already knew Elena would say yes, they had talked at length about their plans to get married, he had even gotten Elena’s opinion on type of ring, though she didn’t realize it at the time; but nevertheless, he was nervous. Their tour guide quickly made an excuse to return to the back offices, leaving Daniel and Elena alone with the jellies. It was time now. Daniel led Elena to the Moon Jelly tank, the purple glow illuminating the room. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” he asked. “Just like you. Which type is your favorite?” “I like all of them” Elena responded, “They all have their own charms. These tiny ones are little squishees, these big ones have elegant long tails…” She continued. Daniel’s heart was about to leap out of his chest. The ring box was now in his hand behind his back as a million things leapt through his head on what to say or how to say it. “I have one more question for you” he said, lowering himself onto his knee. Elena turned to face him, her eyes widened with surprise and excitement. “Will you marry me?” Daniel asked, struggling to maintain his composure and keep from jumping with joy. “WHAT?!” Elena shouted excitedly, as she began to hop up and down. “YES!!” “HOW DID YOU… WHEN DID YOU…?” “WHAT?” “YES, YES, YES!!”
She began skipping around, almost bumping into the electric eel tank as it lit up as if to say “Congratulations!”. As she began to calm down she realized that she hadn’t yet seen the ring, only the box it was in. Daniel opened it for her revealing a diamond that sparkled magnificently as the lights from the jellyfish tanks radiated and churned through the softly moving waters. “It’s beautiful” she said, Daniel slipping it onto her finger. She kissed him, “I love you” she said. “I love you too” he responded.
“Now what?” she asked. “Now…” he began, “…we celebrate”.