A proposition, by itself, was not daunting at all. However, a proposition coming from Marco is a completely different scenario. One that sparked an interest and made my inner hope feel like it could gather some dry wood into a small pile, douse it in gasoline and hover over it with a match that was just waiting to be lit.
The fancy dinner coupled with Marco's jolly smiles and meaningful gestures also added to that hope. That maybe, just maybe, he did all of this to come out and tell me that he feels the same and his proposition was that he'll find another way to free his sister with the condition being that I stay.
I knew that I was being overzealous and decided to throw all of those thoughts out of my head and look at Marco with a neutral, clear mind.
It was well into the afternoon
