Left At The Altar

• Grace De Villa, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2018

It was supposed to be perfect - the best day of my life. Instead, heartbreak and tragedy replaced a day supposed to be full of love and hope. He snapped. I knew how he felt about me, I knew this day would eventually come. But he was the only boy I actually had feelings for and of course, once I fall for someone, they just let me fall, face-first on the ground, left to help myself up. I sat on the steps, imagining what the day would of been like, if he kept his promise. The dress, the flowers, the people - all of it was now worthless. Pools of tears balanced on my perfectly curled eyelashes. Mother said I would never fall in love with any of them. Father said I had to do it for our family, our country. The people said, I would be an embarrassment, I would fail to sustain the marriage. But they were all wrong. I did fall in love. I had to do this for me, not for anyone else. And the person they least expected, broke my heart before I could tell him I was in love.

One by one, they left. The sound of muffled voices and scraping chairs would be the only music I would hear that day. No dancing, no singing, no happiness. Just me, at the altar, on my own. One by one, they gave me their condolences. Some scoffed as they walked away, mocking me. My mind drifted. Was he happy? Did he really love her? Could he not love me the way he loved her? I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling and the thoughts from taking over. But it didn’t work. One by one, the tears trickled down my face, exposing how I really felt. I quickly wiped away the tears, not wanting anyone to see me like this. It was too late. Mother looked at me with a perplexed look on her face and Father seemed apologetic, guilty almost.

Ashamed, I run down the aisle with tears streaming down my face. I rip the veil out of my hair and violently smear the makeup off my face. I wanted to scream. Suddenly, my body gives up. I fall to the ground, drowning myself in tears. Everything was a blur. Reporters swiftly run up to me, shoving their microphones in my face. No one cared if I was left alone, after all they expected it but if I was crying over an arranged marriage, it would get everyone talking. Bodyguards come out of nowhere, attempting to wrangle the reporters. Chaos. It was all chaos but I didn’t care. I didn't care if the whole country would see me crying. I didn’t care if I disappointed the people. I didn’t care if our family would lose our titles. The only thing I cared about was gone. And now I was all alone.