Between Duty and Sacrifice

The night stretched wide, freckled with stars, watching silently as two lovers clung to

each other beneath its cover. In the shadows of the trees, where the world could not reach them,

they held tight, breathing in each other's scent like air they couldn’t live without. They had stolen

this moment, carved it out of the stone walls that trapped them. Here, hidden from the eyes of

those who would judge, their love burned bright, fierce enough to set the world alight if only it

dared to let them be.

“I dream of running away with you,” one whispered, his lips brushing against the other’s

ear. “Somewhere far, somewhere no one cares who we are or who we love.”

His lover smiled, a sad, knowing smile. “And if they did?”

He hesitated, his fingers tightening around the other’s hands. “I would give up everything

for you... if the world would let me.”

It was a beautiful, fragile dream, but at this moment, it felt real. They could picture dawn

breaking over a new horizon, a place where their love could live in the open, unchained. But

dreams are delicate things, and reality is a cruel companion.

He lowered his head. “I have to go.”

“No,” his lover whispered, shaking his head. “Don’t go, not yet.”

He cupped his lover’s face, memorizing how he fit perfectly in his hands. His smooth

skin radiated warmth, like a star trapped inside a body. He wanted to stay and defy the world, but

duty was an unrelenting force, and they found out.

His family.

The anchor he couldn’t cut loose.

They had whispered in tight circles, their voices laced with fear and shame. A mother’s

pleading eyes, a father’s thunderous decree. “This ends now.”

“I wish things were different,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to his lover’s.

“They could be,” his lover said, gripping his arms, desperation seeping into every

syllable. “We could leave it all behind. Tonight.”

But he had seen the look in his mother’s eyes—the unspoken grief, the silent begging for

obedience. He had heard the whispers in the halls, the tightening grip of duty closing around him

like a noose. His father’s words rang in his head, sharp as steel. “The world won’t change. Don’t

bring us shame. Forget his touch. Forget his name.”

The words felt like iron bars, locking him in a cell built by generations before him.

The weight of it crushed him.

So he did what he had to.

“This love we have,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Can’t stand against the

world’s great might. I love you more than breath or air. Yet I must let you go.”

“You’re lying,” he said as his breath hitched, eyes burning with disbelief. “Tell me

you’re lying.”

But silence was his only answer.

His lover’s face crumpled, dreams dissolving like raindrops against a stone. “I wish it

wasn't like this.”

The next morning, bells tolled in celebration. White silk, a veil, and a trembling hand

were placed in his. A life unplanned, a future dictated by titles, expectations, and duty. He spoke

the vows, but his heart was elsewhere. Outside the cathedral, unseen by the crowd, a lone figure

stood, watching, waiting—a ghost of the past.

Their eyes met for just a moment.

No words, no gestures.

“Please, don't forget me," he read his silent lips, a desperate plea before he was long

gone.

And though the love they shared had been buried, forced into silence, it still lived—

trapped between the weight of sacrifice.