True Love is a Tragedy.
Picture this; you’re nineteen years old with the world at your fingertips, it’s a beautiful summer night and you’re at your favorite place on earth. In this story, it’s an amusement park - Luna Park in Brooklyn New York to be technic. The smell of popcorn, cotton candy and carnival food is in the air, the stars above are clear and the moon is the biggest you’ve seen it in a very long time. There’s the sound of laughter, screams and chatter, as well as the cacophony of ride music and the clatter of coaster tracks. There’s no where else in the world you would rather be than in this moment in time right here and now. And then, as if the night couldn’t get more perfect - you see them. The apple of your hearts desire that you didn’t even know you had been looking for. And just like that, the rest of the world falls away and the only person you see in the entire world, is them.
That was exactly what it was like the moment Kellan saw Lisbeth Cohen for the very first time. It was as if he had tunnel vision, the sounds and blur of motion around him faded to practically nothing and all he could think in that moment was just how painfully beautiful the girl he was seeing in front of him was. She was with her friends, laughing as she wiped chocolate from the corner of her lips and as crazy as it seemed in that moment all he wanted to know was what it was like to kiss those lips and get lost in them. He was drawn to her, like a moth to a flame, and it was a feeling he had never felt before. It was almost as if her soul was singing to his own and together the two could write a sonata unlike anything the world had ever heard.
Kellan had never been the shy type, so he made his way to her without hesitation and introduced himself and the rest - as they say - is history. They spent the rest of the night together, talking, laughing, stealing glances and small touches and getting to know one another. Before long, all of their friends had gone and it was just the two of them. The park had even started to clear and he knew that soon it would be closing down. Before the park closed, he asked her what the last ride of the night should be and to his dismay she answered - the Ferris wheel. Kellan had an irrational fear of heights and something about that ride had always put him on edge, but he didn’t voice this concern to her because in that moment all he wanted was to make her happy.
They road the ferris wheel to the top, and it jolted to a stop. Up there they could see the entire park in it’s perfect glory, every light and attraction laid out before them as if it was all just for them. And in that moment, he kissed her. That kiss was the very first of his undoing. The moment their lips met he felt a spark he had never felt before, and would never feel again in all the years to come. His body and soul felt light and alive and he knew he was completely screwed.
The park closed and they were told they needed to leave the premisses, so they left the park together to find somewhere else to go. They ended up spending the rest of the night on the Brooklyn bridge, talking as they sat together in the moonlight until the sun came up. He knew from that night on that he wanted to be with her forever and it wasn’t a feeling he was used to. He had dated in the past, but most of his relationships ended badly or went nowhere. A few ended on good terms but this one - this was the one. He wasn’t sure how he knew it, or why he was so certain of it, but he felt in his heart that everything had been leading up to this one night and meeting this one person. His person. They exchanged contact information and reluctantly left one another’s company, only to stay in near constant contact through text or voice calls.
Next came the hard part - the part that usually scared off any real potential to have a relationship and left his love life dead in the water. He always dreaded having the talk but he knew he never wanted to keep any secrets from her, he only wanted total and complete transparency so the next day he asked her to meet him so they could talk. He had been terrified, afraid that what was honestly the most amazing night of his life to date would become a far distant memory and that she would go running in fear. But when they met and he told her about the Moonies, her reaction was not at all what he was expecting. Other women had been afraid of his chosen path as a criminal, had looked at him with disgust or fear and had ended things or had tried to stay but only ended up leaving in the end. He didn’t want this to turn out to be like that, and once he had gotten it all off his chest he had been surprised to get another reaction from her - one he had never experienced with anyone else prior; curiosity.
Beth wanted to know more about his world, wanted to know how it all worked and meet the men that had chosen to loyally follow him no matter the threat of danger. Quickly, Lisbeth not only accepted his world, but became a part of it. She was initiated into the Moonies and before long she was his right hand woman, the second in command. She didn’t just demand respect from the Moonies, she earned it. The two became the king and queen of crime, pulling off elaborate heists, boosting cars and making a name for themselves in the criminal world. She was safe under his protection and everyone knew not to mess with her. His men followed her without question or hesitation. She was his calm in the storm, and whenever he felt his temper getting the best of him, she was there to make sure he kept a level head. In many situations she was the one that kept him from getting caught or killed. She was his rock, his anchor and he knew he would never survive in this world without her.
They were in love. And nothing could stop them.
The two had planned to spend their lives together, had talked about their future and what that entailed. Someday, marriage and sooner rather than later - a home to call their own. But one thing that they had never talked about was having children. And the day Lisbeth found out she was pregnant was the day that everything changed.
After the hardest decision they had ever had to make in their lives, the pair bought a home in Queens, a moderate sized home with room for their soon to be family. Kellan was still terrified, scared of what kind of father he would be and worried that the child would grow to hate or resent him. But she was his constant reminder that he could do it. That he was a good man and he was deserving of good things. And soon the idea of having a family became normal to him. They decorated a nursery, bought clothes and baby toys and talked about names. The date of their child’s birth was fast approaching and before long, she went into labor.
Kellan had always fast held onto the idea that meeting Beth was the best day of his life, but the day they brought their daughter into the world together quickly became that for him. He loved her, with every fiber of his being, and by extension he loved their little girl just as much. She was perfect, dark hair and light eyes and she looked exactly like her mother - perfect in every way. Now he had two beautiful girls in his life that he would die to protect. And even though he knew everything was changing, he knew it was for the best and through it all they would have each other.
But some predestined things were not meant to be.
The following days after they brought their daughter Ryan home, were some of the happiest days of his life. They would spend hours just looking at her, holding her tiny fingers and counting her toes to make sure they were all there. Making faces at her just waiting for the day when she was old enough to smile at them, or even give them a little laugh that only a new child was capable of. He was excited to share in all the firsts with her. First steps, first words, first lost tooth, first everything. But as the days went on, he felt a distance between them. He felt Beth pulling away from him and he didn’t understand it. Wasn’t being a new parent supposed to bring you closer together despite the late nights with little to no sleep? But he told himself, it was likely postpartum depression or the fluctuation of hormones her body had undergone. He told himself, with time, she would return to her normal self. He wished so badly that had been true.
On a night like any other, Kellan bathed their daughter and put her to bed, she was sound asleep and he made his way to bed to spend what little time they had before she awoke again just the two of them. But he got that feeling again, that gut feeling that told him something was off. Beth left that night, with a kiss and a declaration of how much she loved and appreciated him. It felt like a goodbye. He wanted to go in her place, to let her stay home and relax while he ran the errands she insisted needed done that night. But she wouldn’t be persuaded. She promised she just needed a bit of fresh air and that she would return soon and he watched her walk out the door with the sinking feeling he would never see her again, warring with his certainty that she loved him and she would never go anywhere. He wished he hadn’t let her go, because that was the last time he ever saw her.
Five long years passed and Kellan raised their daughter alone. He never understood why the woman that had promised to love him for eternity and spend her life with him suddenly left him with their newborn daughter without a word. As the years went on he had given up the idea of seeing her face in the crowd, or of answering the door to find her there. He had accepted that, for whatever reason, they just weren’t destined to be as he had always believed. He had no idea how he would explain the loss to their little girl, and she was getting older now, old enough to ask where her own mommy was, and why she wasn’t with them. He knew eventually he would have to tell her the truth, and that scared him senseless.
Now I bet you never thought the story would end like this. That a story of such pure, unadulterated love and devotion between two people would have such a tragic ending, but that’s where you’re wrong.
Those feelings Kellan had, that he would see her face in a crowd, or find her once more standing on his doorstep - they were predestined to come true. Just not when he thought they would. One knock on the door one cold storming night in Queens five years after he had lost all hope, Kellan found himself once more face to face with a ghost from his past. In that moment, a million muddled thoughts went through his mind. All the anger, the pain, the confusion and suffering came flooding back, and so did his longing, his desire, his completely all consuming love. All of these emotions flooded him, somehow too much and not enough all at once. The woman he loved and lost, the mother of his child, the one true person he had always believed he was meant for - was back. And it was for good.
It might not be easy, sometimes it will be hard as hell. But at the end of the day, Kellan’s soul never stopped loving hers — and never will until the day he dies.
