When hope is gone

It always starts the same.

One is naive, full of wonder, curious to explore the beauty in the world. The other is wounded, full of disenchantment, terrified to step outside his walls, again.

They meet, they chat, they smile. Time seems to stop and a spark has come alive.

One wonders if this is it, if she's found her home. The other feels helpless, smells the threat on its way back.

It's not the time to part just yet. They'll wander into each other's souls, searching for their own missing pieces. They'll make love, and they'll share their demons.

Time will then resume, merciless, deaf to the prayers of the characters of the story.

By now, the damage is done.

One will see the castle of her imagination crumble, swept away, revealed in its evanescence. The other will run back to his walls, silently shut the door, weeping at yet another failure, yet another broken heart.