Doomed Love

The beginning and the end

"Hey Dad, will you tell me how you and mom met? It was during the war right?" The girl who was no older than 15 said.

"That's right. It was a time that was of chaos and uncertainty. Sit down and I'll tell you about it." The dad said as he looked out the window.

"Okay." The girl sat down and waited patiently.

"It was many years ago, about 35 if I remember correctly. The war was between the Gahla empire and the human race. Your mother was the leader of the human race, while I was merely a soldier in the Gahla army. Our love was doomed from the start."

He paused and looked at a picture of the two of them from long ago.

"Father, you and mother were only 15 when you first met right?" The girl asked curiously.

"That's right. Would you like me to continue?"

"Yes please."

"Blood shed, that's the main thing I remember. So many lives lost for a cause that seems pointless now. The war was first started when the Gahla attacked Earth seeking a planet to call their own, since their last one died. The Gahla believed the human race were inferior, thus did not try to peacefully coexist. We sought annihilation. Perhaps we sought this because it was all we ever knew. I was taken prisoner and sent to the palace. There I met this beautiful woman. She was called Layla. Her hair was a light blonde that shined whenever the sun touched it. Her skin although pale was darker than others."

I was taken to a cell that had no windows, where they chained my hands to the wall. Hours passed before the beautiful woman called Layla appeared before my cell.

"Who are you," the beautiful woman asked with spite in her voice, "why have you come?"

"We have come seeking a planet to call our own."

"And what makes you believe that you can have this one? It is already populated."

"My people do not seek your permission. Our goal is to wipe you out and claim this land," he proclaimed.

Layla opened the cell door and approached me with no fear in her eyes. She bent down to where we were eye level.

"I wish you luck. We will not give up our land so easily. Do not think that we are weak just because we are different from you."

I was held there for months maybe a year. In that time period I learned that she was right. The human race wasn't weak. In fact it was the opposite. They refused to give up even when all seemed hopeless. My feelings for Layla grew the more I watched her become the savior of the human race. One day she approached me and asked for my help. Her numbers were depleted and they were facing extinction. I agreed to help and went into battle to fight my own people. However, before I left I promised Layla that I would return. I told her that when I did I would ask for her hand in marriage. The rest of the war was hard fought with many casualties on both sides. After the war was over I returned to the palace I was a prisoner of. I walked up to Layla and got down on one knee. I held out a velvet box and opened it. Inside was a diamond ring.

"Layla, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?" The look on her face was one of happiness.

"Yes. I would love to." I pulled the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger.

"We were married the following year and had you five years afterwards. I wish your mom was with us now." The father told his daughter.

"What happened Dad?" He smiled but the tears were evident in his eyes.

"That story will have to wait for another day. It's time for bed."

He carried his daughter to bed, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead goodnight. Once she was nice and comfy he went to the living room and picked up a picture of Layla and him from years ago. Silent tears trickled down his face.

"I miss you Layla. If only you were here now." He placed the picture back on the table and called it a night.