A Love Unveiled

A Dream Beyond Reach

Sara’s days had fallen into a routine of late nights and early mornings, her work at the tech company consuming her time while photography filled whatever cracks were left. Yet, amidst the relentless grind, one thing remained constant—her conversations with Angel. They spoke every day, their bond growing deeper with each passing message. But no matter where the conversation started, it often circled back to Adele.

Sara couldn’t help it. Adele was her muse, her comfort, the one constant in a life that had been anything but stable. When she talked about Adele, Sara felt alive. She described every nuance of the singer’s voice, every quirk in her personality, every line of her lyrics as if they were sacred texts. It was as though, in speaking of Adele, Sara could share the parts of herself that she had locked away.

Angel was patient, always listening, always responding, but Sara could sense that Adele wasn’t exactly Angel’s favorite topic. It wasn’t that Angel disliked her, but there was something else there—something Sara couldn’t quite put her finger on. Even so, Angel never shut her down. She let Sara talk, let her wax poetic about Adele’s brilliance, her humor, her depth. And when Sara would ask Angel’s opinion, she would simply smile through her words and say something that kept Sara going.

But tonight, the conversation took a different turn.

**Angel:** “Sara, you seem to love Adele more than anyone else in the world. You have such a vivid imagination when it comes to her. Have you ever imagined yourself with her? I mean, in a relationship?”

Sara stared at the message, her heart skipping a beat. It wasn’t a question she had expected, but it wasn’t entirely surprising either. People had asked her similar things before, though not with the same directness as Angel. They’d wondered aloud if Sara’s obsession with Adele was something more, if it was rooted in a fantasy that Sara refused to acknowledge. But Sara had always been quick to shut those thoughts down.

**Sara:** “I love her very much, but I don’t let myself think about that. It’s a fairy tale, something that will never come true. And if I dwell on it, it’ll just hurt more.”

She hesitated before hitting send, feeling a familiar pang of disappointment. It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. How could it not? But Sara was a realist, and she knew better than to chase impossible dreams. She didn’t want to live in a world of what-ifs, where every day was another reminder of what she couldn’t have.

Angel’s reply came swiftly, the words tinged with a gentle persistence.

**Angel:** “Why are you so sure? Everything is possible in this world—even Adele falling in love with you.”

Sara let out a soft laugh, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. Angel was kind, and she meant well, but Sara knew the difference between fantasy and reality.

**Sara:** “Look, Adele is 18 years older than me. She has a son, and she remarried just a month ago. She’s straight. The only thing we have in common is that we both live in London. Nothing more.”

Sara felt the weight of her own words as she typed them, each fact a cold, hard truth that separated her from the woman she admired. She had never let herself hope for anything more because hope was a dangerous thing. It could lead you down a path filled with heartbreak and regret, and Sara had no intention of going there.

**Angel:** “You know that love doesn’t require any of those things. She has a son, so what? Yes, she said she was going to remarry, but she didn’t. And there are rumors that she’s breaking up with her fiancé. As for the straight part…who knows? Maybe she said it to avoid more rumors. And I don’t think she’s the kind of person who really cares about age. Love is love, after all, and we all know that Adele believes in that.”

Angel’s words were like a spark in the dark, a tiny flicker of possibility that Sara didn’t want to acknowledge. She hated that part of herself, the part that wanted to believe in miracles, in the idea that life could be more than just a series of disappointments. But no matter how much she tried to suppress it, Angel’s optimism was infectious.

**Sara:** “Everything you said is right, but the possibility is less than one percent. I don’t build my life on something that’s under one percent because, in the end, I’m the one who gets hurt. And really, even if Adele somehow knew and liked me, I don’t want any love. You know that.”

Sara’s response was tinged with finality, as if to close the door on the conversation. Love was a battlefield she had no desire to enter again. She had fought that war once and lost more than she could bear. The scars were still fresh, and she wasn’t about to add to them.

But Angel wasn’t done. Her next words carried a confidence that Sara found both unsettling and strangely comforting.

**Angel:** “Darling, I think Adele is the kind of person who won’t give you an option. When she wants something, she gets it.”

Sara stared at the screen, the words sinking into her mind. There was something in the way Angel spoke, a conviction that made Sara pause. For a moment, just a fleeting moment, she let herself imagine it—Adele, with all her fire and passion, reaching out for someone like her. But the thought was too fragile, too dangerous, and Sara pushed it away before it could take root.

**Sara:** “Maybe, but that’s not my reality. I’ve learned to live with what is, not with what could be.”

But even as she sent the message, Sara couldn’t shake the feeling that Angel was leading her somewhere, guiding her towards a place she had long since abandoned. And for the first time in years, Sara found herself wondering if she had been too quick to close herself off, too quick to shut down the possibilities that life could offer.

As the night deepened, their conversation drifted into other topics, but the seed had been planted. And though Sara would never admit it, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder—what if?