It was a cold day when Alicia decided to go for a brisk walk. She had too much on her mind and felt unable to organise her thoughts. Instead of organising the thoughts in her mind, she came to the conclusion that she would be better off clearing them instead. She grabbed her handbag and left the house where she resided with her parents. It was not a cultural or religious value but a value based on the threat of admonishment. It had become the honourable act to auction off the daughter. Just like China’s one child policy it had now become a law to get the daughter married at the age of 20 if she wasn’t already. It was a bid to control the growing number of the population which the government argued could not be housed or taken care of by society’s meagre means. Alicia never imagined a world that was any different to the one she had known and she envied the days she learnt of in her history class at school. There was a problem which was a concern to the ruling state and that was the amount of babies people were having together at a younger age and out of wedlock. All these rules were put in place to try and re- establish a more manageable way of life without reaching such a high level of efflorescence much like that brought to us by the baby booming phase.

To make everything so much harder it was that age old tale of the fact that Alicia was already in love with another man and had promised his heart to him. The man she wanted to spend her life with was already married to another woman who had been chosen for him. It was as if he was off the menu. The secret key to the heart only ever unlocks the truth and love was one that could not be locked up. The chains of society would keep them apart and prevent that key from opening the door to their love, that which was forbidden but not unrequited. When the two had met he was married and now that divorce was illegal it just seemed impossible to beat the constraints which kept them apart. Affairs were on the rise, as a consequence of what seemed like an attempt to reinstall the nuclear family. The government did not have to answer to affairs but to have a baby to another, that of whom you are not bound by law was an offence, for which there was a punishment to be incurred. Alicia and this man had never consummated their divine connection as they did not want to run the risk of Alicia falling pregnant and never being able to see each other again. Alicia knew his wife well as she masqueraded as a friend to be near her husband and to eliminate suspicion. It wasn’t that Alicia didn’t like his wife but her intentions were not to be near his wife. They were to be near him. It was amazing the way this development had changed the nature of affairs. They were no longer this sordid betrayal but a way to express something with such tenderness and love. Sometimes people did not even get hurt as the parties involve knew the truth and were happy with it, as it meant they could be with the ones they want. In those instances it was not really defined within the parameters of being an affair. In the case of Alicia and Jonny it was an affair, as Jonny’s wife, Macy, was also in love with him and had no idea of his affections for Alicia. As Alicia walked through the quiet woods she heard her mobile phone ring. It was Jonny. She answered it, feeling ashamed like a truanting teenager who had just been caught by the lunch lady.

“Hello?” she answered with an upward infliction, even though she knew who it was.

“Alicia, my darling. I can’t stop thinking about you and how you will soon be married to another man.”

“I know,” Alicia breathed. “It’s hell in my head right now. You wouldn’t want to get inside.”

“I would, believe me, I would. I think my wife is having an affair and I can’t go on living in this denial. I can’t keep lying to myself about who I want to be with.”

“Oh Jonny,” Alicia soothed, frustrated with everything, “There is nothing we can do.”

“The way I feel about you will never change. I want us to have a family and to spend every minute celebrating our love instead of hiding it ashamedly. This isn’t right.”

“I know it isn’t my love. It’s set in stone though. We cannot break the law and we cannot change it. Many before us have tried much because of situations like ours but they have ended up behind bars or simply with another. I know it’s hard to accept but we have to keep this a secret,” Alicia reasoned maturely, hoping she articulated the sentiment in a way Jonny would empathise with as the last thing she wanted to do was cause any kind of rupture. Her head was in pieces since her mother and father had told her that tomorrow she would stand in front of ten prospective men who would pay for her to be his wife.

“I can’t do this. I can’t let you be bid on like a prize. You are not a prize. You are my everything.”

“Oh Jonny, don’t,” Alicia begged.

“Don’t what, be in love with you? It’s a little too late for that. We need to runaway together. This law is only valid in England.”

“Yes, but they can find us and extradite us back to our country of origin where the law stands to reason and we could lose everything.”

“Yes I know but if they never find us we can have everything. The law is still shady anyway. If you aren’t married off we are in better stead. We have to do this now. Macy will understand,” Jonny tried his most reassuring tone of voice. Alicia was not responding. She loved the sound of being with Jonny but she knew how risky it would be to just up and leave. They would be forever hiding, forever running. It was only another form of imprisonment. “We are never going to be able to love each other openly,” Jonny chimed, as if reading Alicia’s mind. “This way at least we can love each other openly, or as close as can be. We can be away from this circus and its ring leader.”

“Oh that sounds like the most appealing option right now, but we can’t fight this. We have to play along.”

“Yes, we do and this is us playing along. You want to give in and just give up on us?”

“I would never do that, Jonny. Not ever. I am just being realistic,” Alicia told.

“Realistic? You are adhering to their standards of realism, which is a virtual idealism that we are acting out on their behalf. They have right to deny or dismiss our love on any ground.”

“I know. We know. Everyone who has ever loved for real knows Jonny but how many people have you seen elope? It is a crime! It certifies and proves our act of passion in a way that sneaking around simply doesn’t. It is the biggest tray of evidence that we could hand them. We wouldn’t stand a chance if we were found with a baby in another country or if they walked in on us naked, or anything, no matter how flimsy, small or huge, we would be completely playing in their hands if we just ran off together.”

“I don’t care,” Jonny retorted defiantly, “If it meant just spending one minute with you without this judicial system on our back and without Macy and you at that auction I would be happy.”

“Well, what about me? My life would be over. Our love would be over. You think it was worth it then?”

Jonny started to sob and Alicia couldn’t bear the sound. She wanted to sob but couldn’t. Everything inside was like a volcano that couldn’t erupt even though it was active. “I think our love is over if we keep hiding it like this. Please come with me. I can’t bear the thought of you with another man. I want your heart.”

“Jonny. This is the real world. You know the rules. We have to play by them or the state will have us on lockdown.”

“The state do have us on lockdown, Alicia. If we go somewhere else with different laws we may get caught but before then we can just be.”

“We’d be looking over our shoulders every step of the way,” Alicia argued.

“We are doing that anyway. Just leave this place. We can keep running. “

“Well, where do you want us to go?”

“Somewhere we won’t be found. Lets just catch a plane and decide at the airport, or better yet just get a ferry to Amsterdam.”

“OK,” Alicia gave in.

“Really? Did you just say ok, we’re doing this?”

“Yes. Lets just do it. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Would this be the start or the end of their love story? Only time would tell.

So, Alicia was packing a small suitcase when she began to panic as her parents were due home in an hour and she was still trying to decide what was vital to take. She had her passport, her cards for money, the emergency stash of cash she was saving for a rainy day. She looked out the window or sunshine. I guess a sunny day would have to do. She couldn't fathom what she was doing. She knew she didn't have to justify it to anyone or even herself, but just knowing that society deemed it as wrong was making her feel ill at the thought of going against such rules. She had some clothes and she figured she would just abandon everything else in her room; her guitar, her make-up, laptop, everything. She did not want to have any appliances on her that could be tracked. She would keep her phone and only answer it to Jonny's number until they were far away from England. It was then she chose to leave her house, contemplating the family she was leaving behind; her mother, father, brother and sister. What was she doing? Before letting herself dwell she just began sobbing her goodbyes, sick and melancholic at the thought of never even seeing them again. This must be love, is all she could think. She prayed she wouldn't bump into anyone and put her black furry hood as far over the front of her face from the back, as she could. Jonny had said he would go straight to their secret hang out as soon as he was done and wait for her, however long it took as long as I did my best to hurry. That must have been about two hours ago, so when Alicia arrived, she expected to see Jonny there. He wasn't. She stood by the tree where they had shared their first kiss, wondering even he had changed his mind when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She jumped before turning around to see him. There he was, her knight in armour, or hunk in denim. The spider man to her Mary Jane, like Darcy to Elizabeth, or Bridget, or like Clark to Lois. She fell into him, and they immersed themselves in the most intimate, passionate kiss. In that one kiss, all of Alicia's doubts just melted away. She felt safe and cherished.

They finally peeled their Velcro lips off one another, and just stared deeply into each other's eyes. They did not need to exchange words. They walked hand in hand, silently making their way to another mother tongue land. They felt the strength of their bond in embarking on this mission to live happily ever after. They just let themselves feel each other's energy and connect through this immense desire to remain alone together, happy and free. They knew the risk they were taking and the gift in every breath they both took to stay as close together for as long as possible. All they hoped was that the state would not find them and tear their love apart. Soon enough, people would realise what they had done. As far as they knew, no one on dry land was aware, but everything was so different now. It was so difficult to tell what was up, what was true, what was false, what was real, what was fake. Love had become such a convoluted and intertwined concept. Everyone was living it as closely to their hearts as they could. but there were so many obstacles, complications and anomalies. It was all a challenge. One smile said so much. A smile was not so secret anymore, at least not when Alicia and Jonny looked at each other. There was so much in that smile. More than words could say, more than one smile could say alone.

They had made it all the way to the ferry, still without uttering a word, blissful, hopeful and scared, their hands remained inter-locked. "I will never let go," Jonny whispered.

"I never want you to," Alicia replied, sighing heavily, relieved at their first exchange of words since sitting underneath the tree of that fateful kiss, like a silk worm making it's way down to the soil. Alicia could not believe a love like this existed and she revelled in her glory, as she gratuitously realised how lucky she was to have found it. She had never felt so rational. It was not as she thought it would be. She had thought true love would be dark, confusing and rife with problems. With Jonny the only problem was the government! That was not even really a problem with the relationship itself or him. Alicia did not want Jonny because the government made him unattainable or because his wife made him so. She did not want him for some status symbol or some experience. She just wanted him for him, love for love, passion for passion, touch for touch. She had not been looking for something so evocative but she had got it. She felt like she was home with him, like he was home. He was reminiscent of everything bringing on a nostalgia but one she never got bored of or tired of. It was like a lucid dream, that she had again and again, each time becoming even more vivid, and she couldn't deny it was amazing. She loved it. When she shut her eyes there he was in her mind, but now she would get to sleep with him beside her and wake up to an even better dream.

There were countries who had taken the punishment further, deeply religious countries. They kind of jumped on the band wagon when they saw a first world nation like England taking to such a stern, stoic policy. They used its modernity and stamped it on their tradition. Alicia had heard horror stories about couples but she was sure they were not true and she trusted Jonny to know the places to take her to keep her protected, alive and well.