A love story isn't worth reading unless it is known, presumably, that it is going to be tragic. Some stories get past the tragedy, and meet a happy ending. Some stories end tragically. The one you are about to read ends.. tragically.
It is an India Pakistan love story. It is everything that all the average stories are about: rebellion, love, obstacles, betrayal, hatred, enmity. Nothing in any specific order. This story is chaotic. It's characters are messy, as you and I. I dedicate this one to all the people who are, in some way or other, dealing with chaos.
If you have cried yourself to sleep, and woke up the next day, with under-eye bags and stick-dry throats, this is for you.
If you have loved someone, anyone, beyond all the obstructions and inconceivable hurdles that there are, this is for you.
If you have lost someone, to death, to disease, to another person or some other way, this is for you.
This story will not provide you with the hope that you are so desperately searching for, to cling to. This story won't heal you. I make no such promises. But this will give you a solace, as tragic stories do. As James Baldwin said,
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read"
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]