Between Hearts and Homelands

Yannick, a 16-year-old boy, lived with his family in a small, Protestant Christian village in Africa. His parents were grieving the death of their favorite uncle, and Yannick was feeling distant and dejected. One day, his best friend Elijah asked him if he'd like to go to his family's village on the other side of the continent for a weekend. Yannick accepted the invitation, hoping that a change of scenery would do him good. Accompanied by Elijah, Yannick arrived in Elijah's family village and was welcomed by the warm embrace of Elijah's family, including Elijah's older sister, Marie, an 18-year-old beauty with a well-formed, sporty figure. As the group caught up and shared stories over dinner, Yannick kept blushing every time he glanced at Marie. Eventually, Elijah had to tell his sister to stop teasing Yannick and let him enjoy the rest of the night. As the night drew near, however, Yannick couldn't help but think about Marie and the beautiful body he had seen at dinner. He decided to sneak into her room and waited for everyone to go to sleep. He then carefully opened the door and saw Marie lying down in bed and snoring peacefully. Yannick realized this was his chance and gently embraced her sleeping body and began talking to her, reenacting the conversations they had had at dinner. Yannick felt strangely safe, content, and even certain that something between them would happen once they woke up.

Little did Yannick know that after the wild, passionate, romantic moment they had shared in the night, the events that would follow would make him question his feelings again. Throughout the day, Yannick and Marie acted like nothing had happened between them, like their feelings didn't bother them. They kept ignoring each other and talking about other people, as if their inner conversation had no place in their present lives. As the day started to fade out, Yannick started thinking about leaving the village, already feeling homesick, and knowing it would be impossible to continue exploring his relationship with Marie in that small, Protestant Christian village.

The next morning, Yannick was packing his things and said goodbye to the Elijah's family, thanking them for the hospitality; little did he know this would be the last time he would see Marie in a long time. Before saying his final goodbye to Marie, Yannick decided to tell her how he felt, to give her one more opportunity to express his feelings, however, his plans failed miserably. Marie seemed embarrassed by Yannick's declaration of love and asked him to go back to his village and forget what had happened between them. Yannick was so powerless and heartbroken he decided to go without any kind of explanation.

As Yannick said goodbye to the village he thought of their passionate moments. He knew that their love could never be shared because it would be unimaginable to somebody in their village. Yannick started again his normal life, but with a scared dream in his heart, a dream of a potential love affair that could have unfolded in different settings. Now, every time he remembers that night, Yannick feel both sadness, for not being able to have the happiness like he was feeling that night, and gratitude for the hidden moments of passion he could enjoy before leaving.