The Games That Play Us

Chained to the Future

  It was the day of Aleida's wedding. She was out on the beach with her bridesmaids and the new friends they made the night before at her bachelorette party. The music was blasting, they were all dancing and running into the water. Aleida was in heaven. Everything made sense to her.

They all ran back to the bar, yelling "shots!" Aleida was laughing and felt right home. She jumped up on the bar and laid down. A man she'd met last night followed and mounted over her. Aleida's maid of honor, Thalia, was her best friend and her partner in crime. She did the honors of pouring the tequila on Aleida as the stranger licked her body and sucked the lemon right out of her mouth as everyone cheered him on.

Aleida's father walked up to the bar, livid. He pushed everyone out of his way until he got to Aleida. Her smile fell right off her face the second she saw him. He peeled her off the bar and dragged her to the car. The whole car ride was silent until they pulled up to their church.

"You can't make me marry him. I don't love him."

"You heart is no longer yours to give."

Aleida, confused, asked, "my heart, my choice."

"You gave up your right to choose when you decided to party your way to a casket," said Aleida's father.

"I can't marry him. I don't love him," argued Aleida.

"This is not about love. You're marrying him to survive. You leave him and there's a tombstone with your name on it, just waiting for you. Get inside, we're done discussing this."

"We're done? We just started discussing this. You bargained my heart for my life without discussing it with me. What's the point of living if my heart is no longer mine?"

He stepped out of the car and whistled to get Dasha's attention. Dasha came running to the car and opened the passenger door. Her father pulled her out and Dasha walked her into the church.

"God, you smell like sweat and tequila."

"I smell like freedom."

Aleida fought tooth and nail. She refused to get ready for this wedding, but she had no choice. Dasha kept shoving tic-tacs in her mouth so when she kissed her new husband for the first time, she wouldn't taste like strangers and tequila.

After hours of hard work, Dasha did it. She got her sister ready for the wedding she never agreed to. She was proud of her work. Aleida fell asleep after fighting with Dasha the first 30 minutes, this allowed her to finish her hair and make up without a struggle. Now, she had ten minutes to make sure that the bridesmaids were ready and didn't smell like a bar. She woke Aleida up and shoved 3 tic-tacs in her mouth before running out the door.

Aleida looked in the mirror to find that she was in her white gown. She stood there, adjusting her veil, when Emrys barged into the room. He grabbed her waist, "you can't marry him. I've got a get-away car, we can leave now and by the time they realize we've left, we'll be long gone. What do you say?" Before Aleida can even answer, her father walks in to get her. He pulls her veil over her face and the two walk out together, leaving Emrys alone and angry.

She was walking down the aisle staring at the one who captured her heart as tears slid down her cheek. As she reached the alter, her attention refocused to the one she was promising to spend the rest of her life with, Ramses. Aleida wanted to grab Emrys and run back down the aisle and never look back, but like I said, this is not a love story. This is a story about love and the games that play us. Lucky for us, the games have just begun.