• I stand by my window looking out, waiting for him to come back. He's been gone for over a month now and I'm beginning to get worried. "Where have you gone? You said there was something you had to straighten out with your family, but surely it can't have taken this long." I murmur into the night air and recieve no reply. A stray tear rolls down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away before I close the window and walk away from it in disappointment.
    I go through the motions of going to bed, not feeling the comfort my clothes used to give me. My heart throbs in sorrow for the one I love so dearly. I climb into bed and feel the sheets wrap around me and then I realize I was the one who put them around me. I'm so distrought lately that it feels as if I'm going insane with worry. I remind myself that it is not insanity to long for a loved one but I still can't help but feel as if I am insane; I hear that I am daily. I shake off those thoughts and just lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling.
    I can see his face in my mind and I hold onto it. His silver hair that reaches the middle of his neck is cut into those beautiful short layers and his bangs obscure most of his face from view but slivers of his red eyes manage to poke through. His skin is so white it almost has no pigment at all. He is awefully skinny, his cheekbones are sharp and yet he is the most beautiful boy in the world...

    I am woken in the middle of the night by the sound of my name being whispered. This is not the first it time it has happened but this time feels different. I can't be sure that it's real but I have to know if it is. I slowly begin to get out of bed and I feel a kind of comfort envolop me as I set my feet on the ground. I walk over to my window once more just to see if he is there waiting for me just like the first time we met. Instead of him, there is a single black rose upon the sill of the window. I gasp and I hold it tenderly to my chest. This is what he always gave me whenever we saw each other. I begin to sob uncontrolably. So he was here. My love was here. Where is he now?
    I am about to turn around to go back to bed when a pair of arms wrap around my waist affectionately. I look up and see his face. I turn around so that I am facing him. He smiles slightly and brushes his lips on mine. I reach my hand up and brush some of his hair out of his eyes. I smile at the sight of his eyes. I rest my head on his chest and he holds me tighter. "I've missed you." he murmurs into my hair. "I've missed you as well." I sob into his chest. "Please don't cry, Rose" His voice is so soft but also hurt. "How can you ask me not to cry? It's been so long." I continue to sob. "Please don't cry. I'm here now. Please don't cry." he pleads. I look up at him to see a sad expression on his face. "But, Vladik, how can I be sure you won't leave me agian?" He stops at this and merely holds me closer to him. "I... don't... know..." he whispers. "But I will never be far from you." he concludes.
    "I love you so much." I say, looking him in the eyes. "I love you too." he smiles. My heart melts. He takes hold of my hands and we stand there with a few feet seperating us but our hands continue to be interlocked. Then we begin to move so fluidly it's as if our minds have become one. We dance to no music that is audible for it is the music of the sound of hearts beating.
    We move happily about the room. He lifts me into the air and we spin together, our bodies in constant contact. My bedroom door opens swifly as I am caught in mid spin by my mother. "Mother, I - I..." I stutter. Vladik stands unmoving and unseen. "You were dancing alone again! You insane child with your fantasies!" She walks over to me and slaps my cheek. It burns and hurts a little and I wish to cry, but I do not. "What did I do?" I scream at her. Vladik moves so that his arms are around my waist so as to comfort me and restrain me if necessary.
    "You are nearly a grown woman and yet you act like a child." she says, slapping me yet again. I raise my hand to slap her but Vladik holds onto them and whispers "Don't get too angry. You must remain calm. She'll never go farther than that. Trust me." And I do trust him. I relex my arms and say calmly "I am sorry, Mama." "Mi hijita, I am sorry but you need a husband and you won't get one if you contimue to act like a child." "But if he truly loves me, he will not care if I act like a child and wish to dance." "Ay. My heart feels sorry for you. You dream of a love that is a mere illusion to keep little girls content with their lifes." She shakes her head sadly before leaving the room. As soon as she does I am about to fall to my knees but Vladik catches me and holds me as if I am a small child.
    "Rose..." he murmurs softly as he sets me on my bed. "I am so sorry." "It's nothing to be sorry about, my love. My mother, she is insane, she does not believe in love. She just doesn't understand that now women marry for love and not sheer convenience." I sigh and snuggle up to him. He holds me in his arms and I feel as if that month apart never happened.
    "Vlad?" I ask tentatively. "Hmm?" he asks smoothing my hair with such gental hands. "Why have you been gone for a month?" I ask, absently playing with the sleeve of his shirt. "I told you, it was a family thing." "Yes, that is what you said, but I can't help but feel it is something more." I murmur even more quietly. I look up to see that his face is thoughtful. "My love, it is something I would rather not discuss." he says. "Oh, I see..." I murmur. "It's another girl, isn't it?" I ask, even though I know I should not. He sighs "I will not lie to you, yes it is." I am about to leave when he contiues "I do not love her but my father wishes for me to marry her. She is beautiful, yes, but she is nothing compared to you." He brushes some hair away from my face. I turn away from him. "Rose, please don't be angry with me." his voice is so soft and sad. I think my words carefully before asking "So you are engaged?" He sighs and gets off the bed to hold me. I pull away from him and say "Don't." "Yes, I am engaged." He looks at the floor as he says this, shame on his face.
    "You know what?" I ask spitefully. "What?" he asks, curious by my harsh tone. "I wish you had never saved me that night I had attempted to commit suicide. Then I would never have to feel the pain of a broken heart ever again. It's all your fault! I never want to see you again!" I shout, falling to my knees and crying into my hands. He puts his arms around me and whispers in a hurt tone "How could you ever say something like that? Saving you from yourself was probably the only good thing I ever did in my life. I wasn't able to save my mother from my father and I didn't even want to save him from himself. Please never say you regret me saving you. You're the only person in the world that I have ever cared this much for. Please. I will find a way to end the marrige and I will find a way to be yours forever in Eternity, just give me a chance to love you again and I will find a way. I promise. Just give me some time and another chance." And you know what? I believed that he would. "Vladik, I am so sorry I said those things. I love you and you know that but it feels wrong to be with you when you are to love another." I whisper into his shoulder. "Shh... I know you didn't mean it. And I am not to love Kyla, I am to love you." he says, kissing the top of my head.
    I look up at him and ask "Do you ever feel that this love is wrong?" "Why do you ask such questions that I feel horrible when I answer?" he questions, holding me tighter. "Please answer, I need to know." I beg. He smooths my hair yet again. "Yes, sometimes I do but I have no doubts at all about whether I am in love with you, Rose, because I am." "That's all I need to hear." I say. "Do you ever feel this love is wrong?" he asks me. "Yes, sometimes I do, but when I look into your eyes I have no doubts that I am completely in love with you." "It good to know." he says.
    I yawn and he carries me to my bed where I position myself so that I am laying on his chest. He strokes my back until I no longer feel as if I belong to reality. The last thing I am aware of is Vlad muttering that he loves me.