“Allowed to be loved…”

A love letter from Maia to Garret in “Portrait of a Moon God,” by G. Padron Sarmiento.

There was a moment last night when I was allowed to be loved. I was allowed to feel the warmth of your skin upon mine, your voice in my ear, your hand upon my heart. And I was allowed a kiss, a caress without reproach. It’s all I wanted, after all.

Why did I have to wait so long? Why did I have to seek others’ hatred before I could hold you? Why did I have to know loss before I could find you? Why is our love so unnatural that all other loves would see us turn to ash for simply caring?

And then, in that moment, you answered. I had to wait for the conviction to seek you. I had to know others’ hatred before I saw how much you loved me. And I was allowed to love you last night because for that small moment, I realized no other possession in the world was worth knowing you gave yourself to me… even if just for that small instant.

And I’m sorry we had to bury the world, for me to be allowed love and for you to love me.