A Time for Us

1

"Two households, both alike in dignity

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-marked love

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children's end, naught could remove."

~

Minji never cared for violence. She could never understand why the people of Verona had such bitterness in their hearts to lead to these constant outbreaks of brutality. Was the divide between the two houses that led to this continuous violence? Were humans truly born evil? She would like to believe that isn't true. Today is no different than any other day. She watched as two servants of the Kim household were carried away on stretchers, their agonizing screams filling the streets. She was sure there were tragedies on the other side; there always are. The feud between the Kim and Kang households has continued for decades. The two families have been the top families in Verona for even longer. She wonders what started this feud. It's all she's known since she came into this cruel world.

The Kim heir knows little to nothing about the Kang family other than her family hates them. Nor is she allowed to know much since she cannot be anywhere near them. How could you hate someone you don't know? Then again, how can you form a reasonable opinion of someone you don't know other than the violent acts they ignite on the street? The Kim's are not innocent of this either. Her family has started many fights.

"Your mother is looking for you." A soft voice coming from a distance pulls Minji out of her thoughts. Danielle, her cousin, leaps on the ledge of a stone railing and sits there, pretending not to notice Minji.

"I wasn't there. I never am." Minji sighed, walking towards her cousin and leaning against the rail she was sitting on. Danielle nods, pretending to read a small journal but taking glimpses at Minji.

"I told her you were not at town square when it broke out, but you know how worried she gets." Minji nods understandingly and sighs, looking at the flower she had carried back from the gardens while crimes were happening on the street. It was a dark purple, but most of the petals had fallen off. "Where were you really, Minji?"

"In the gardens." Danielle and Minji both knew what that meant. The wavy-haired girl climbed down with a frown on her face.

"When will you stop tormenting yourself? Theodore breaks your heart at every chance he's given." Minji sighed, looking longingly at the iris in her hand, Theo's favorite flower. She has given him every opportunity to show his care for her, but he has yet to do so.

"I love him, Dani. I have loved him since we were kids." Danielle let out a deep sigh, walking towards her cousin. The Kim heir stopped her before she could say anything else about it. "Do not say anything about it. One day, he will love me back again."

"You've been holding off marriage for two years now. Countless suitors have come your way. Every last one was handsome, rich, and open to love. I don't get what is so special about Theodore." That monologue felt like it was going on forever to the black-haired girl, even though it was only a few seconds. She knows all this is true, yet some part of her still holds out for true love.