Different - Mel Afoa

I brought my lips on his, knowing it was our last, forever.

We kissed roughly, our arms wrapped around each other tightly. Our sought each others with desperation, trying to hold onto each other. His arms tangled into my hair, his lips letting go of mine softly, seconds later touching back onto mine. Tears rolled down as I held onto him, the tears falling silently on his pure skin.

They reached for him, pulling him away.

"Be strong", he whispered, his lips touching my ear quickly. He pushed them fiercely, grabbing me into our last hug. He kissed me hard, his tears entwined with mine. They pulled again, pushing him off me. I screamed, reaching for his hand that tried connecting with mine. I felt other people pulling me back. I felt familiar arms pulling me away from the most familiar.

"I love you!", he called, a sad smile etched on his face as he was being dragged into the car by his own family. They pushed him roughly, gave me the death glare, before driving off into the sunset. Dissapearing into nothing. Dissapearing with him.

My own family held me back, arms wrapped around me tightly, shaking me softly. I could not hear, and neither could I breathe. They took him away. We were seperated, forever. They were to catch a flight to France immedietly when the car would reach the airport on the other island.

I sank to ground, holding my heart, the tears still streaming down my face. My heart shattered, its pieces lying on the ground with me. I could only whisper his name, my soul tearing inside as I thought of him. Him, the handsome French tourist my heart attracted. Him, the French with the green eyes and brown eyes. Him, the French with the most handsome features and damn-beautiful body. Him, the one I loved, the one who showed me what real life was like on the outside. We were equals, lovers, everything the books described about soulmates.

"Saulena", they whispered in my ear. The people around me, my family, were holding me. Whispering comforting words in my ear. Giving me hugs of guilt and honour. Telling me it was for the best. Telling me he didn't belong in the family. Telling me I couldn't marry a hispanic guy, a Non-Samoan.

They planned this. Both families. His French, my Samoan. My own father, the one I respected and loved out of all my family, tore me apart. Told me French people did not belong. Could not follow Samoan traditions. 'Whites and Similar' did not belong. Couldn't. His family said the exact same thing. 'Brown people of the Islands' did not belong in mexican families. How could they learn the ways of French tradition?

I could only laugh with depression. I could see my life falling to pieces, my soul starting to light on fire. With him, he took all the memories. All the good moments we had. Moments where we were just us, not a High Samoan Priest's daughter, and the French President's nephew. Moments when we could escape the fame, escape the world of fame and live as soulmates in peace. We belonged together, no matter the context. Love only came at the right moment, but when mine did, it was taken away.Crying on the hard ground of Savaii, memories of love flooded around me, mixing with the Pacific Ocean water in front of me. The water was clear blue, and the sun was bright yellow, mixed with the white balloons in the blue blanket above.

I remember how I sneaked to meet him in the pacific resort he was staying. He was there in the resort there with his Uncle, who was on a vacation from his president life. We had sneaked off onto the nearest beach, the moon illuminating the pictures view of Samoa. The palm trees danced in the summer breeze around us, and frangipani trees freestyled in the air. We had our first date, and then our first kiss. We danced on the sand, its beautiful, rough grains flying softly as we danced, our laughter radiating in the air. I stumbled a little, and fell, pulling him with me. We kissed, touched, and made love for the first time, on a picturesque beach in the island of Samoa. His kisses were like the water that touched the island, it yearned for more sand.

" Saulena, e le mafai ona sau le tama ga i totonu o tatou aiga. E le mafai", my father had said. That boy could not come into our family.

TBC