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Imet June years before the war took the world by storm. Our daily clandestine rendezvous by the edge of the forest was my refuge. In those moments, I did not fear what the world has to say. All that mattered was the us, men celebrating our love under the moonlight away from the eyes of the world.

Honestly, June was the last person I thought I’d fall for. He was reckless and stubborn. There was not a single day he would visit the clinic where I worked, without a cut on his cheeks and sores on his fists.

“Your name fills our daily logs,” I remarked as I carefully cleaned his cut. “You’re a magnet for trouble.”

“You’d always be there to patch me up,” he smiled for a moment before wincing in pain as I plastered his cheeks. “Careful.”

“Tell that to yourself,” I pressed his nose and he winked in return.

Maybe it was the way he leaned into my touch every time I tended to him. Or maybe it was the way he stared at me while I look at his stitches. There was something about his smile as he walks out the door. Before I knew it, my heart was his.

“Do you always get into fights so you could see me?” I teased. He was laying on my lap, eyes closed and grinning proudly. We were under the star-studded sky on a bed of grass.

“Not entirely,” he giggled. “Someone has to fight the bullies.”

“Playing hero only gets you hurt.”

“The pain will be worth it. I help save people in need and I get to see my love.”

“Sappy, aren’t you?”

“You love me anyway.”

He was right. I love him so much. However, the thought that I may never see his stupid little face or hear his annoying laughter or feel his warm embrace or inhale his familiar aroma kills me.

“Do you have to go?” my voice cracked into a whisper as I hold in my tears.

“I promise to return,” he sat up and cupped my face. “Just stay at home for me, alright?”

“But you are my home,” a tear fell and he was quick to rub it away. “You are my home!”

June took a deep breath.

“You are mine too,” he softly spoke. “You are my anchor. You are my all. You are every other reason for me to return. Because what we have is special. A love unlike the world has ever seen.”

“You need not to go.”

“I have to. I am doing this to protect you. I want to help make this world better for the both of us.”

He said goodbye through a gentle kiss in the dark, for when the dawn breaks, he will not be able to hold me like husbands to their wives as they bid them away. For us, we have to take every chance of expressing our affection while we remain hidden because the moment we step out there, we will be nothing more than great friends.

I waited. Weeks turned to months, and eventually, a year. The daily Newspapers stacked at the corner of the clinic since he went. I read every news concerning the frontlines. A couple radios gave up because I didn’t dare turn them off.

“I hope your friend made it,” the clinic’s doctor mentioned. He handed me today’s paper. “War’s over! We should celebrate, we won!”

I could not celebrate. Not just yet. Not until he comes home to me.

The next day, when I entered the clinic, June’s father sat by the front

desk.

“Steven,” he stood when he saw me.

“Sir, how may I help you today?” I kept a smile despite my insides collapsing on themselves. I’m afraid I will not be ready to hear what he’s here to say

“I know you and June shared a friendship like you were brothers.” he swallowed and bit his lip, hesitating. “He’s gone, isn’t he?” His father’s head dropped. But he regained his composure. “The notifying officer wanted us to know something.” “And that is?” My voice almost cracked. “That in his last moments, he said he thought of his home.”

- JB Ryan Babas