What might we have done differently? I cannot say. I only know that love itself was not enough to bend whatever fate had in store for us. And that is why I stand here trembling at the thought of leaving this woman — my life, my love — with no assurances of return.

And yet, I know what I must do. I must take a journey of a thousand miles to begin a life without my life, in a home that my heart cannot call home. Perhaps to someday return. Perhaps to remain forever exiled from her warmth, her beauty, her love.

If only she could promise me forever, and allow me to do the same, then perhaps this journey would not be killing me inside. But we cannot. We dare not defy the heavens. We hope. We love. But we cannot stay. And that is why we are standing here now, dreading tomorrow.