Maestro

by Auden Dar

I wish I’d known falling in love can lead to falling apart.

“I’ve slept with a few but haven’t had a girlfriend since you.” “Why not?” “Having a girlfriend other than you would have meant I gave up on us.”

“I’m so proud of you. You’ve become the maestro.” “But that’s not who I am,” he tells me. “I’m the boy who fell in love with you at thirteen, loves you at thirty-three, and who will love you until his last dying breath.”

“Yes, I fell in love with a child prodigy. A virtuoso who astounded me with his musical brilliance. I also fell in love with a boy who believed in me. In us. I fell in love with a man who continued to love me even after I broke his heart. A man who broke his own heart to keep his son. You are and will always be more than a world-renowned violinist and conductor. I’m not asking you to give up music. I’m asking you to see who I see.” Placing my hand on his chest, I appreciate the rise and fall of life. “The man I will always love.