I cannot believe what turbulent events have transpired this evening. I meet a man with whom I am sure I am in love, only to discover that he is, in fact, a Montague, the son of my family's most hated adversary. I am forbidden to love him by every thought that has been instilled in me from the moment I was born, and every fiber of my being screams at me to banish these unsavory delusions; and yet, my heart yearns for him in a more consuming way than I ever imagined possible. I know that I will never, and cannot, stop loving him, and my heart and mind ache with the thought that this could destroy both my family and his.
Later that night, after I was dressed in my nightgown and ready to go to bed, I wandered out onto my bedroom balcony and silently closed the door behind me. Struggling over my vexing situation in a stuffy bedroom had left me with fevered skin and a brain to match. Out here, the fresh summer breeze cooled my face and cleared my mind. Out here, I could think quietly without the clutter of my parents' prejudices hanging thick and heavy in the air around me. I began to pace as I debated the issue, speaking aloud to myself: "If only he was not a Montague, this would be infinitely easier. But alas, he bears the name that I have come to despise, and the name that I can despise no longer. It does not matter that he is a Montague; as long as he loves me and I love him, we can be happy together, for we will create our own identities once joined together."
"You failed to mention that you were a Capulet… Juliet."
I turned and saw him, Romeo, striding towards me through our orchard. He wore a visage of nonchalance, but I could see that it was just a mask shielding his hurt and confusion.
"I wanted to tell you, I was going to tell you," I replied, kindly but firmly. "You ran away before we could discuss it… Romeo."
"You would think that an issue of such grave importance would have warranted a full and immediate explanation… Juliet." At that statement, his voice rose in volume, and I feared that my parents would hear our quarrelling.
"Please don't be cross with me for a situation that was entirely out of my control. And please stop using my given name as a weapon. I am sure that you do not truly think of it that way."
"How can I not, when the woman to which it belongs has stolen my heart and shot it through with Cupid's arrow herself?" I could see that the frown he prominently displayed at the beginning of our conversation had transformed into a sly smirk. He began to climb the vine that lazily crawled its way up the wall to my balcony, and soon he appeared before me.
"You are right, my love. We should not bicker mindlessly when we have more pressing matters to resolve," he said, the smirk still proudly sitting on his face.
"And which specific matters would those be, oh dearest Romeo?" I retorted, returning his smirk.
He stepped closer, took my hands in his, and said, "Well, for one, there is the very puzzling conundrum of how to properly express my love for you. By your earlier speech, it is obvious that you will not reject my advances, but rather welcome them wholeheartedly. That settled, I believe that I have a solution to this problem." He slid his hands from my hands to my hips, pulled me closer, and gave me a tender kiss. My arms encircled his neck, seemingly of their own accord, as the kiss deepened. It seemed to last a thousand lifetimes, but it felt like only a second had passed once we pulled away for air.
"Well," I said, smiling up at him, "now that we have settled that issue, we need to return to the realm of harsh reality for just a moment so that we can think of a solution to our next obstacle: our parents."
"Ah, yes, our parents," he said, sighing and leaning his forehead against mine. "I had almost forgotten about them. It feels so wonderful to have it simply be the two of us in this world, blissfully alone. But you are correct, we must address this problem." His brow furrowed, and he pulled one of his hands away so that he could put a finger to his chin in mock contemplation. "Fact Number One: our parents hate each other." He began to pace in circles around me, his eyes never leaving mine. "Fact Number Two: they would never agree to this-" he gestured to the pair of us—"if their lives, or ours, depended on it. Fact Number Three: we are madly and passionately in love with each other, and we will simply burst if we are torn asunder." He paused to brush my cheek with his knuckles before continuing on his track. "Conclusion: we must simply continue without them finding out about us, or make it so that they cannot argue."
"Comment:" I started as we began to circle each other, now turning in the opposite direction, "it seems rather impossible to keep this a secret from either of our parents for too long of a duration. What exactly did you have in mind for the situation that will disable them from arguing with us?"
"Before I address your very important question, I have a present for you. It's just a little something that I found on my way over here. Now I just need to remember where I put it." He searched his pockets, patted down his shirt, and peeked in his shoes. There, he knelt down and pulled an object out of the heel of his left shoe: an ornate diamond ring with a single pale pink rose stuck through it. I recognized it as one of the flowers from the rosebushes just inside the orchard wall. I gasped slightly at the sheer beauty of the ring and the rose together, and I brought my gaze up to his eyes.
"I had this idea buzzing through my skull ever since I left your party. It's the perfect way to prevent either of our families from splitting us apart: we need to be wed. So, if it's not too much trouble, would you consent to being my bride, Juliet Capulet?"
"Well, it does seem like a bit too much trouble, considering that my parents will permanently shun me when they find out that I've eloped with the son of their nemesis. And please don't become accustomed to addressing me by that name." The light left his eyes, and his head hung low, hair falling in his eyes.
"I should hope that I would be called by the name Juliet Montague after we were married," I stated with a sparkle in my eye and a quirk in my smile.
Romeo immediately stood up and kissed me firmly. I could feel the smile on his lips, and I smiled back in return. When we broke apart, we were both laughing.
"You had me fooled for a second. At least now I know that our marriage will never be a dull one. I know that you won't be able to wear this permanently right now, but I would like to see my bride-to-be wearing her engagement ring." He slipped the ring onto my finger, and nothing had ever fit so perfectly in all of space and time. We both looked down at it with contented smiles playing across our lips.
Suddenly, I heard my bedroom door creak open, and the voice of my nurse shattered the serene stillness of that perfect moment. "Juliet, where are you? Why are you not in bed?"
I quickly shouted back a reply: "I'm just out on the balcony. I needed a breath of fresh air. I will return inside shortly."
"Well, do hurry up with whatever it is that you are doing out there. You need your rest from the long night you've had."
I turned to Romeo and looked forlornly into his eyes, biting my lower lip so that it pulled into a pouty frown. "I suppose that is your cue to leave."
"I suppose that it is. But have no fear, for I predict that we shall meet again sooner rather than later. Goodbye, my darling, until the morrow." He planted a series of quick kisses on my cheeks, nose, and mouth; then scrambled down the vine and over the wall. He waved and blew a kiss to me as he departed. I caught his kiss and held it to my cheek before remembering that I had a cross nurse in my room waiting for me. I left the rose on the wall of the balcony and placed the ring in the pocket of my nightgown. As I entered my room, my nurse rushed up to me and said, "Tonight must be a much hotter night that I had originally thought. Look, your cheeks are bright red. Get into bed this instant, so you can cool down and get to sleep."
After she had made sure that I was on my way to sleep, she whispered good night to me and left, closing the door behind her. I rolled over onto my side, and the curtains on my balcony door briefly blew aside, revealing my rose: a memento of our forbidden love. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
My name is Juliet Capulet, and I am about to marry my enemy.