For Anyone to Understand Our Love

He looked at me—
He really looked at me,
Staring from the darkness,
Through the dusty, rusted louvers.

From the side, I heard a whisper,
My dear friend Manu,
"Look, he's waiting for you outside.
Are you sure you two aren’t dating?"

My heart caught two emotions at once—
Fear, and something else.
A sense of being deeply loved.
I knew his gaze meant more than words could say.

But out of fear, we both stayed apart.
We could never be together.

Fifteen years later, I called him.
I wrestled with myself—
The struggle between love and ethics.
He is married now, with kids.
I felt guilt, shame, love, and loss.

The phone line broke,
Network issues.
I heard him cry, "Please call back, please."
But as the call ended, I knew
I would never call him again.

After fifteen years,
I let myself feel what I had kept buried.
I felt the weight of our forbidden love,
And with it, a deep, deep loss.

A poem inspired by the movie From Beginning to End.