Some people say that home is where the heart is. And that ohana is family, and family means no one gets left behind. Or forgotten.

I believe I have to beg to differ in both.

*******

Have I run away from home? Oh no, I left willingly. My family let me go, I'm not sure if they did that out of joy, but they were definitely not grieving over it. I was left behind.

They didn't entirely ignore my existence. I still had a beautiful home of my own, and a fortune that I could probably use to stay alive, for like, centuries. They didn't want to condemn me to a life of a beggar, no. I was still somehow their beloved little child. And I wasn't about to be cursed forerever. Not because I loved someone.

That someone being Minho.

Perhaps I had been wrong at first, lying to my family about falling in love with Minho. Maybe if I had come clean with them in the first place, I wouldn't be alone now, like some kid with autism.

I believe I am a strange manifestation of Juliet. Or maybe I am her reincarnation right of the story.

She had more than she wished for, a lover that held her in his arms, and loved her with all his heart. And she was no beggar. Unfortunately, her family disapproved of her love. She had to lie.

My family was more or less a dense bunch. It wasn't too hard to hide this relationship from them. The times we spent together weren't all in the open, but it wasn't all secretive like we had to meet in tiny alleyways and that our only way of communication was a hole in the chink of a wall. This was no emotional drama where people had to constantly dry their eyes from the touching scenes.

But then, everything began to go wrong. As if it couldn't get more obvious, lies would always lead to trouble.

Other than the growing feeling of bone-crushing guilt, like decay, rotting me from the inside, I wanted to cry every single day. It was so painful to hide from people I cared about, and I loved Minho too much to let him go. He was my Romeo, someone I believed that would save me from my troubles, my despair.

*******

The beach is my favourite place. Watching the sun drown into the sea was amazing, the bleeding rays of the sun spreading out on the turquoise water, that was now tainted a beautiful shade of red, blue, then purple as the moon took its place.

I sat in a tiny grove, away from watchful eyes. I liked watching the sunset in a quiet place, with the usual buzz and chatter as far away as possible. Alone, I watched as the the waves washed upon the rocks, trickles of water washing into my grove, splashing my toes. I smiled, singing to myself in peace.

I suddenly felt arms wrapped tightly around me. I was completely surprised, taken aback by the sudden warmth as a familiar face buried into my back.

"Taemin...." Minho whined, his voice muffled. "You made me so worried, I thought you were washed out to sea or something. Or that you swam away to leave me."

"What am I, the little mermaid?" I snorted, pinching his cheek, sighing inwardly as my peace was disturbed.

"You might be. You look pretty and you have an amazing voice. Who knows, maybe you are born in the sea!"

"I would never want to be the little mermaid, Minho." I stared at him earnestly, hugging him gently.

"Why?"

"Because the mermaid disappears in the end. Her only choice to survive is to kill the prince. And I would never kill you. And I want to stay with you forever, so I'd rather stay here." I flapped my arms, water droplets glistening in his brown curls.

"True, but since you chose here you miss out on talking to dolphins, breathing underwater and living in an undersea palace filled with shells, gold...."

"Okay, maybe I should swim out."

"Don't you dare!"

We smiled at each other, wrapped in each others arms as we talked. Yes some may think its ridiculous, adults obsessing over children tales.

But I didn't mind. As long as we were happy, spending as much time as we could together.

**********

I sighed. Losing myself in those memories made tears go to my eyes again.

But even if I think I am like Juliet, I still don't want to be called by that horrid name.

The poor, beautiful maiden had her story ending so tragically. Her love and she both died.

Instead, I want to be like Cinderella.

Her life may not had started off as the best. She was treated as a maid after her father died, living hard and doing all chores.

But then she had a happy ending with her prince. She could live happily ever after.

I had always dreamed of being like her. I could be with Minho, the one I loved the most forever.

But now, I guess Minho was just another fairytale. It was all a lie.