“I lost my brother and sister in an earthquake. My aunt died in it too,” he told her. Though he knew the story of his own tragedy could never compete with hers, Omkar saluted her willingness to be vulnerable by offering up his own vulnerability in return.

She listened to him tell her about the earthquake and the dark cloud over his family, about the oppressive constraint of his culture and about moving to this completely foreign country, with one ear against his chest. When he had finished speaking, she listened to the sound of his fingers stroking and playing with her hair.

Without them noticing, the sun had already set upon their time together. The glow from the city lights made the churn of the ocean water sparkle. Underneath the excitement of the romance, their bodies had found a home in each other, a sense of belonging that Aria had only met once before, while watching a part in a movie. When she was little, she had seen a Disney movie called Fantasia in which there was a segment, accompanied by the Pastoral Symphony, with a group of female centaurs of all different colors bathing and preparing themselves until the music changed, signaling the arrival of all the males. One by one, each female was united with the male of her corresponding color. But a blue male and blue female hadn’t found each other yet. They were sitting alone, feeling like they were the only ones without someone to belong with, until the cherubs drew them in each other’s direction and they saw each other for the first time.

Aria had spent her life feeling like that last centaurette, waiting for someone to belong to, until today.

Before it was so late that his parents would have grown concerned, Omkar drove her back to the car lot. Pulling up there, and knowing that she would be spending the night there in that reality, threatened to pollute the fantasy of their time on the beach. But he didn’t have an alternative, and he hated himself for consenting to drive her there.

Before she got out of the car, he wrote his phone number down on a piece of paper towel he pulled out from the picnic bag and handed it to her. He worked up the courage to kiss her cheek. “Thank you so much for tonight. I had a wonderful time, truly.” Aria smiled at him lovingly and closed the door behind her. He watched her walk away until he couldn’t see her anymore and pulled away from the curbside, feeling like his life had finally begun.