Chapter 1- Curiosity
Justice: Hey, Babe?
Temperance: Yes, my love?
Justice: How did you know I would come back, even after rejecting you multiple times and breaking your heart?
Temperance smiled and replied, “I knew you would ask me this question one day and I have spent years preparing myself to answer it. You are right; you broke my heart repeatedly, making it clear you were not interested in me and never wanted date or talk to me. I vividly remember the third time I confessed my feelings to you. You just blocked me, saying it was best for you not to talk to me. I was devastated over that text, and didn’t have the courage to react or respond because I was so afraid to see you go.
I thought If I texted back, my messages would never reach you, and I would lose all hope of getting you back. You might have assumed that the undelivered texts would help me accept the truth and move on. However, I never texted you back; instead, I took a screenshot, kept it somewhere in my locker, and deleted our entire conversation. That was the last time we spoke in that year.
You know what ? At one point, I even believed you were not my soulmate and I deleted most of your pictures, and things you gave to me. Even for your birthday, I stayed away. I knew my presence would make you uncomfortable after blocking me, and I wanted you to enjoy your day without any awkwardness. You were looking stunning that day that I couldn’t keep my eyes off but I prioritized your happiness over my desire to see you cut the cake I had kept in the kitchen. I silently wished you a happy birthday, and took a picture of the cake. I did delete your old pictures but I am not going lie; I still have that cake picture and one from your childhood where you were standing close to your uncle in an old magazine. I cut the picture from it and kept it with me. You were wearing a red T-shirt, and looking so cute, smiling in the same cute way you do now.
“But you started ignoring me and didn’t even look at me sometimes, like the way you used to do, Justice replied. She added, many times, I could sense your presence around me and your feelings towards me, which made me uncomfortable. I would feel the weird behaviour and your urge to get my attention, but after I blocked you, you stopped everything. I could sense that you were drifting away, no longer interested in me. You even reduced your visits to the community centre, whereas before, you’d wait for me for hours for every single day, even on days I didn’t show up. I could still feel your energy waiting for me everyday at the same place, wasting 4-5 hours. I could feel everything from a distance. Sometimes, seeing your face made me irritated and I’d just leave. But after my clear statement, you changed a lot and I could feel that you were actually moving on, accepting reality. I even wondered, if you really had strong feelings, how could you give up so easily? I was so confused, torn between emotions. You just turned my world upside down for a while. Why?”
Chapter 2- Withdrawal
“You are absolutely right, Justice; I would not argue with that. Yes, I stopped everything but I didn’t stop loving you. What I did instead was respect your decision and deliver my promise. You said you feel uncomfortable around me so I shifted my energy. I didn’t stop chasing you; I just stopped showing it to you. I didn’t reduce my visits; I still went there every day, hoping you would show up, and I would catch a glimpse of you from afar or at least see your car. I would wait until I could sensed your presence, and then I’d leave. Before I’d wait until you left, but after that, I’d go back home as soon as I knew you were there. But I never stopped showing up or looking for you.
I also agree, many times, you walked right by me, and I didn’t even look at you, pretending I was busy writing something. The truth is, I didn’t need to see you; my heart could already feel you were around. It would start beating faster and my face expressions would change, but it took a lot of courage to hold my breath and not show any emotions. It was very hard. However, I did it because I remembered that I had tried everything, and nothing else was left to make things work between us. I surrendered to this war of emotions and left everything up to the universe. And you know why? Because looking back at my past, I realized that I had always gotten what I wanted, even if it took weeks, months, or years. Why would this time be any different? So I didn’t lose hope, even when things seemed impossible.
I really made you believe that I’d lost interest, but in reality, I was secretly manifesting your return. There was never a single day where your thoughts didn’t keep me awake. I had countless sleepless nights obsessing over you. My hobbies,study and passions all took a backseat and I struggled to get back on track. I even wrote poems and fantasies about you trying to process. My emotions, sought advice from others, including virtual therapists, but everyone told me to move on or find someone else. I am sure they all had their best intentions towards me, but I, on the other hand, trusted my intuition. It never failed me, even when my judgment was clouded by your harsh words and past conversations. People would often say I had an unhealthy attachment that was consuming me, indicating my desperate search for love. Some days were brutal, filled with disappointment, while others were hopeful.
Chapter 3- Inner Conflict
I was a rollercoaster of emotions. One moment I would be motivating myself to hold on, and the next, I’d be on the verge of giving up. I’d think to myself, “If I could move on from past loves, even after years of being together, surely I could get over you. After all, we never officially dated. But despite my best efforts, I found myself crying almost every day, yearning for you. I would talk to you as if you were there, touch the empty space beside me, hoping you would appear. On days, you didn’t show up, I’d chase cars similar to yours everywhere, sometimes near your resident, hoping it might be you. I would drive over yellow lanes, loosing my attention, thinking you’d be driving in the opposite directions, but you weren’t there.
I got so many signs to give up on you, Justice. There were countless emotional breakdowns but you never was there to wipe my tears or acknowledge my pain. It should have been a wake-up call that I was chasing a love that didn’t exist. But still, I held on, unable to let go of the hope that things could be different. We lived on opposite sides of the road, like two oceans that could never meet. I paid attention to all these signs but my heart still yearned for you with the same passion I felt when I first saw you. I thought you were out of my league, and in many ways, you were- beautiful, independent, smart, kind and confident in your worth. And those qualities drew me to you, but your guards were so up and I couldn’t find a way in. Therefore, I withdrew myself from you and kept my distance.
You know, My friend Capsy would often say, “I don’t get how you can just sit there, pretending you don’t feel anything for her. If I were in your shoes, I would be desperate to see her or talk to her- I would be ripping my shirt apart and acting like a crazy person! But, how do you have so much patience”? And I’d response, ”Capsy, I am Temperance, a fire sign- impulsive and impatient. Do you really think I have a lot of patience? No, I am burning inside instead of burning everything that’s keeping her from coming to me”. I would tell him, “If there were a thousand people between us, or the entire world was against us, I would fight my way through them all and set the entire planet on fire. My passion for her is that strong- I can fight anyone to win her but I cannot fight her to win her. I am torn between taking a bold move or staying calm. I have lost this fight by surrendering to her. And you know the fun fact? She didn’t need any weapons to defeat me- her words alone had the power to stop me making such moves. I can cross oceans for her but not her boundaries”. And Capsy would always be left speechless.
Chapter 4- Satisfied Longing
“How can you love someone like this, even after being defeated in love so many times?”, Justice asked. Temperance’s eyes sparkled with a gentle warmth and the response was, “loving again takes courage, especially after all the heartache. But love is the guiding force and more than anything in the world, only love mattered to me and still does. I can give up on everything, myself, people, career but not love. I am born love and I can’t help it. This is the passion and a fuel to my fire. I can never imagine myself in any role better than a lover, a lover that everyone needs, a lover that I need, a lover that you need or people who always just manifest. That’s the reason we are here, wearing our wedding rings in our wedding clothes because I believe in love. I believe in me and I believe in you. I knew you would come to me realizing my love for you is genuine and written in the stars. I knew universe would give you signs, forcing you to listen to my heart which beats only for you. Look around, Justice; the only thing you will see is my love, my passion and my devotion for you. Hold my hand, and tell me what you feel”
Justice, wearing a purple gown and black gloves, takes Temperance’s hands and says, “I feel the luckiest person alive to have a passionate, hopeless romantic, and a crazy lover by my side.” I could never have imagined that someone could love me to this level. I was just occupied with my thoughts, creating an image of a desired partner, but you exceeded my own expectations, making me believe that everything is possible. I wish I could have realized this earlier and come to you. I wish I could see your genuine emotions and passion for me, but all I was doing was wasting my time looking for love in the wrong people. I wish I could have held your hands before and kissed you. I wish,”
“Shhhh! You don’t have to regret anything,” Temperance assures her. “Everything was worth it – the tears, the fights, distance, waiting, everything was worth it to be with you. And as for the kiss, you can still do it. I am right here in front of you, patiently waiting for this very moment for such a long time. Kiss me, Justice, and let me end my quest for you. Please kiss me and make me yours forever. I am begging for it.”
Justice comes closer, where she can feel Temperance’s breath, impatiently waiting for the first kiss. As their heartbeats rise, Justice puts Temperance’s arms around her waist, touches her lover’s cheeks, and gives a tender kiss. When they close their eyes, all of Temperance’s anxiety, fears, and impatience disappear, and a sense of stability, security, and peace unfold. Temperance’s thirst is finally satisfied as the kiss deepens, turning them on for their first night.
Chapter 5- First Night
It’s the first time, Temperance removes her clothes and sees her naked instead of daydreaming about this moment. As the kiss lit the fire inside them, their passion turns into……
Do we actually need this chapter? Please comment.