No Escape

No Escape

No Escape
A Story by Lea Sheryn
Billy and Rose meet, fall in love and part. Many years later,Rose finds Billy again only to find out he's married with children. They decide to become friends only to discover they are still in love

No Escape
By Lea Sheryn

When one is in love, there is no escape. As much as Billy tried, he could never get Rose out of his head. He was madly and crazy in love with her but there was this little voice whispering just behind his ear that told him he could never have her. Rose was beautiful; she was fun to be with and she enjoyed doing the exact same things he enjoyed doing. Enchanted by her, every part of him longed for her company yet the fear that niggled at him made him turn away from her every time.

Finally, in exasperation, he told her he could never see her again. His reasons were befuddled but so was his mind. Stammering over his words, he blurted out that he could never see her again. In a panic, he exclaimed that if he ever spoke to her again, he would fall in love. Leaving her in confusion, he stumbled out of her life without looking back.

Rose couldn’t understand it. Perplexed she wondered what could be wrong with Billy. Didn’t he realize she loved him as much as he loved her. For Rose, there was no one else in the world except for Billy. Without him, she was lost and alone; she had no real companion to share her thoughts and ideas. She wanted Billy and longed for him with all her womanly desires.

The years crept by. There was no love for Rose; she would never love if she couldn’t love Billy. Never could she forget his last words and the stumbled confusion in them. She knew he loved her as much as she loved him but why, oh why, wouldn’t he admit it? What was it about her that scared him so? Did he think that she couldn’t love him or that she was too beautiful to stand by his side for the rest of his life? If only she could find him and tell him, could she make him understand?

At last, they found each other again. How eager Billy was when Rose got in touch with him. They talked until they ran out of things to say, took a deep breath and started to talk again. In moments, they had filled all the lost years and found the same companionship they had so desperately wished to cling to when they had first known each other. When they finally parted, Rose realized they had never even said “hello” so fast did their words begin to flow.

Rose was free to love but there were complications in Billy’s life, a wife and a son and a daughter. But it didn’t matter; after all, they could still be friends. Rose was willing and so was Billy. They kept their friendship going and growing, step by wonderful and almost fulfilling step. The connection was so strong; it was as though they had never parted. It was fun and exciting until Billy suddenly realized he was everlastingly in love with Rose. He loved her; he loved her, his mind kept shouting as he eagerly longed for their continual meetings. But he couldn’t have her. In frustration, Billy gave up just like Billy always gave up. That niggling voice was whispering behind his ear again so Billy walked away. And Rose cried out her love for him with an echo that reverberated from the past.

Billy and Rose remain: forever tormented by a love that can never be fulfilled and from a love from which there is no escape. And so, the struggle continues for two lovers when one is afraid to love and to accept a love that is so strong it consumed the woman who loves him. Must they always remain so close yet forever so far away?