What is "Unrequited" about?

The story is placed in the heart of Los Ayer, where streetlights flickered like fireflies in a summer dusk and the air buzzed with an electric energy. It was a city caught between dream and reality, home to artists, poets, and the occasional wayward spirit. Selena Castillo often thought of herself as part of that spirit world. Unbeknownst to her friends, she was not just a witch. She was an empath, feeling the weight of emotions around her like swirling leaves in a windstorm. Her ability made her an observer, a silent guardian of the people she cared about, but it also left her with a profound loneliness. Selena had always felt a connection to Dorian Sean Stuart. He was a lone wolf, moody yet magnetic, with a quiet charm that drew people to him like moths to a flame, but he didn't share the same affection to those people because he liked to roam alone. Dorian walked to the beat of his own heart, often shunning the chaos of city life for the tranquil embrace of shadowed alleyways. His loneliness matched Selena’s in ways that both soothed and tortured her. She often wondered if he sensed her tugging energy, but the more she engaged, the more he retreated.

Jade Mayers, a photographer and artist with an eye for the vulnerable moments in life, was inseparable from Selena. Together, they wandered the colorful streets of Los Ayer, capturing fleeting glances of beauty through her lens. Jade admired Dorian from afar, fascinated by the sharp angles of his face and the soulful melancholy in his gaze, but amidst her admiration was a deeper question: Did she love him, or did she simply love the idea of him?

Then there was Tessa Mitchell, the new girl in the city who felt as if she was still wrapped in the gauze of uncertainty. Tessa came to Los Ayer because her mother got a great job opportunity. Tessa was fleeing the confines of her small hometown where dreams felt impossible. With brown hair and wide, curious eyes, she bloomed in the city, but Los Ayer was more than just a backdrop for Tessa’s rediscovery; it was where she inadvertently found herself entwined with the same mysterious boy that Selena and Jade adored.

It all came to a head at the Autumn Arts Festival, a celebration of light and color under the harvest moon that bathed the city in golden hues. The trio walked arm-in-arm through the festival, laughter bubbling between them as they sampled local delicacies and admired the work of budding artists, but when Tessa spotted Dorian across the park, her heart quickened. There he stood, silhouetted against a backdrop of twinkling fairy lights, sketchbook in hand, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Look, it's Dorian!" Tessa exclaimed, perhaps a little too eagerly.

Selena's heart dropped. The sound of the name echoed like a bell in the hollow of her chest, pain and longing twisting with envy. "Let's go say hi," she suggested, battling the storm of emotions rising within her. Jade remained silent, caught in her own spiral of hope and dread.

As they approached, Tessa was brimming with bright excitement and a fiery curiosity and Dorian glanced up. His blue eyes flickered with recognition, but that was it. No warmth, no smile. Just the signature aloofness that set him apart and simultaneously drew them all in.

"Hey," Tessa said, her voice a gentle breeze trying to rattle his walls. "What are you working on?"

"Just sketching," Dorian replied, lips pressed into a thin line, giving nothing away.

Feeling the heaviness in the air, Selena instinctively reached for the calm within her, sending soothing waves toward Tessa, trying to keep her confidence intact while keeping her own emotions in check, but the connection to Dorian was too strong, too tangible, sparking a jealousy she had never known before. The empath felt Tessa's nervousness, Jade's curiosity, but mostly Dorian's unmistakable indifference, like a cold wind.

"Oh wow, can we see?" Tessa leaned closer and excitement was almost bubbling over.

Dorian hesitated, then turned his sketchbook for a fleeting instant before closing it shut. "Not really."

Selena's heart ached. She could feel Tessa's disappointment cut sharp like a shattered glass. Jade fidgeted, not wanting to impose, but desperate to reach out. "You capture such raw moments in your art," Jade finally ventured. "It's fascinating."

"Thanks," he mumbled, hardly batting an eyelash, but to them, it felt like rejection. Each girl carried the quiet weight of their feelings. Unspoken tensions were threading between them.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting diffused colors across the skyline, the festival rolled on. Selena watched Tessa and Dorian, two souls dancing around one another like stars in a boundless sky. Yet in their orbits, distance still defined them. A bitter taste settled in her mouth as she tried to root Dorian close to her, but he had already drifted away.

Later that evening, Selena stood on the rooftop of her apartment. The sounds of the festival were tumbling up to meet her. Jade joined her, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "What do you think he's thinking?" she mused.
"Maybe he's thinking about how he can shut everyone out," Selena replied. Her voice was tinged with sadness. Their connection was forever marked by unrequited emotions, a trio of star crossed hearts bound to the same boy who lived in shadows.

"Or maybe he just needs someone to see him," Jade said thoughtfully, wrapping an arm around Selena's shoulder. Selena closed her eyes, creating a vision of their friendship wrapped in warmth and empathy and in that moment, she understood that their love for Dorian didn't have to define them. They could still stand strong for one another.

Tessa's laughter floated up through the night, mingling with the sounds of the festival. The pain of unrequited love could sting, but within that ache, there existed a tender thread of connection. Their friendship remained an anchor amidst the tumult of feelings. As the autumn moon glowed above them, brighter than the shadows that lingered in their hearts, Selena felt the flicker of hope. Love was complex, often unrequited and laced with longing, but they would find their way through the intricate web of emotions. Together. In Los Ayer, with its vibrant chaos, they knew they would carve out their own paths, hearts open and willing to embrace whatever the future had in store.



Selena had inherited the art of witchcraft from her grandmother, who had spun tales of the enchanted world that lay beneath the surface of their mundane lives. With every spellbook she opened and every potion she brewed, Selena felt the whisper of ancient magic guiding her, urging her to explore the depths of her potential.

Tessa, on the other hand, was a realist, grounded by practicality yet endlessly fascinated by the otherworldly. When she adopted Ann from a local shelter, she had no idea that the fluffy longhair white cat would become her guardian angel, a silent protector cloaked in mystery. Ann possessed an unusual grace for a cat, with tufted ears and dazzling blue eyes that glimmered like stars in the night sky. It wasn't just her beauty that captivated Tessa, it was the gentle warmth that radiated from her whenever they were together.