Liftoff (A Tribute to La-La Land)

"Men," she said, when he made a comment about the man in her life, her emphasis on the plural. She wasn't going to let love be limited in that way. If only, he thought, he could be so free and strong. It was a love thing, you see. More than anything, he wanted her to be happy, to live whatever dream it was that filled her, sent her into a swoon of yes. And, mostly, she wanted that for him too. About as much as anyone, she pushed him to chase after what counted as poetic. There was overlap in that way, wanting so much the best for each other that it showed up in wanting it for themselves. The path there, for some reason, was blocked with doubts, tangled with fear, booby-trapped with anger and grief. A spiritual companion made the travel lighter, even if that, too, brought its own price to pay. Hope that it would somehow be less hard, though, refused to die, even as the weight of the body gave way to earthly delight.