For a guy like Alex, a love so sweet and everlasting was just a dream, or maybe a fifty-fifty chance for him to get a glimpse or feel. Though there are so many people, literally many people in his entire life, felt love for a short time only to take it away from him at a glance. Ending up thinking that this is his curse, for a man who lives forever, he'll see everyone he'll love come and go. It was sick of a curse, he cannot love someone until the day he dies, for simply he cannot die.
Maybe it shifted a bit when he met this one particular man, his name is Eros, a painter that he met at a crossroad. He can still remember how their hand felt warm when they brushed his hand as he walked side by them. How they looked pretty even though they looked so sad.
All the pictures he had with Eros are precisely kept in a box that he dearly protected. All the stolen pictures of this man come to life whenever he closes his eyes. He can feel their warmth hugging him, comforting him whenever he feels down and weary. The bottle of perfume that Eros uses before, taking a swift sniff, will lull him to slumber. A string of tears slipped out of his eyes as he tried to suppress his feelings.
The painting beside him reminds him of how happy Eros was while doing what they love the most, painting. The painting of a whale filled with roses and butterflies. The handprint on the paint, their signature in every masterpiece that they managed to pull off. He can hear the man exclaim that the whale takes them to happiness. Maybe it was true for them, but the one that brought Eros to Alex is that one dark Monday, it all started in that one very unusual scene.
-
It was a dark Monday, the massive raincloud was covering the city as the cold wind struck a shock felt in his spine. A pretty usual day for Alex as he walked and saw this man who seemed to be a little shorter than him. The said man was holding various art materials that were probably new since it is nicely placed in a paper bag. He took a glance at their face and as the cliché movies say, everything became blurry, the only thing, or should I say, person? That is clear for him is them. They were glowing? They look one of a kind. Maybe a tug of heart said that he might be infatuated by how stunning they are.
They crossed paths again when one time he saw Eros in a café near his workplace. He took this chance to talk to the man. Surprisingly, they were kind, soft-spoken, and every nice thing to say to a person you just met.
Another meetup turned into two more until he cannot even count all that in his fingers anymore.
-
As he took a look at their pictures together, he realized that it was the time when he felt a spark of hope. He fell in love with them, and it was a great feeling. To be in love and to be loved. All things that Eros made him feel when they were still together. And every day it haunts him, every day it will reminds him of the love that he used to have.
His lover is his knight in shining armor, the one who saved him from his darkest days, when he was alone in the middle of nowhere, they found him. Eros found him, kept him, and loved him. Eros is his knight in shining armor, his lover. It felt like a long time ago when he was still reminiscing about the fact that they were such a happy couple back in the day. Like how he still craves the delicious dinners that his lover cooked for him, the small talks that they will have on their couch, or the back hugs that he always receives from them. He misses it all. The way that they will call him and tell him everything that happened in their day.
He misses them welcoming him home.
The way Eros held his hand when they said their vows.
-
On the day of their wedding, Eros was wearing the suit that he, Alex, designed and made himself. As the taller man waited at the end of the altar, Eros was walking slowly towards him with a small smile on his handsome face. He could see their eyes watering, he wanted to wipe their tears, to tell them he loves them, As they went closer and closer to him, and their Mama already handed Eros to him, he was overjoyed. When they grinned at him and they lightly squeezed their hand as they mouthed an 'I love you, Alex.'
