A Statuesque Seduction

"Few know," he says choking back a tear. "I was wounded in battle. He pulled me to safety." He forces a smile then wipes away a tear. "It's when we first met . . . the moment our friendship began the moment . . . the first time my heart felt love." He gently pulls a bloody petal from the rose and watches motionless as the wind lifts it from his fingertips and sets it on its winged flight. "They called him back and i begged him not to go. But he said they are coming . . . if we fail . . . if we fall our world falls . . . and a dark cloud will rise in its place . . . a place where our love will be forever forbidden. Where our special love . . . the love one man has for another man will be scorned . . . and their hate will hang like a smokey death in the air . . suffocating the living." He glances heavenward. "He held me in his arms on the day he left . . . the day he took my heart with him. And his last words to me . . . i go . . . so we can be together."