I was another lost soul wandering, seeking a connection - any connection - when I stumbled upon her. She had a smile that exuded warmth, a gentle laugh and eyes like an open road stretching out under a still endless sky. She was magnetic and drew me in.

I guess i should know better. I let the night blur into the early morning exchanging secrets under incandescent light, all the while headed blind into the tempest brewing behind the scenes.

We ended up in a loud Cuban bar down near the mainline station; loud, peeling paint, scent of crushed mint and rum. It was hot inside, crowded, bodies jostled, shouting to be heard, laughter. I hadn’t felt this alive for a while, but I should have felt the rain in the air.

I was leaning in, whispering nothing in her ear, but the moment hung heavy, words tossed between two people who misunderstand each other. And then… there he was. The frame of a man who belonged in the pages of a comic book; muscle and furious anger filling the doorway.

I half turned, caught his eye, and the reality slammed hard into me like a freight train; the truth revealed. His eyes told a tale dappled with fury and betrayal, the ‘boyfriend’. He didn’t say a word; no preamble, no chance to plead my case. Just a rush, his fists the thunder and my face, the lightning rod. The first hit knocked the breath from my lungs, and there I was, spiralling down.

It hurt like hell. It was an explosion of devastating punches - his knuckles crashing into my face in a sick rhythm. 'How ... could ... you!' he growled in her direction, each word punctuated by another brutal shot.

I gasped for a breath, caught in the path of his vengeance, and my thoughts scattered like leaves. I wanted to explain how it was a mistake, how I didn’t know, how I’d gotten lost in the moment. But words abandoned me, buried under the weight of fists and pain.

And then, he stepped back. Panting, rage still simmering in his eyes, he looked down at me and cast one last glare. 'Fuck..' he growled. In that moment, as I lay there battered and bewildered, a stark realisation settled in. I was staring at myself. This primal force is everywhere. It’s in love, in jealousy and in the frustrations we can’t articulate. I raised my gaze, every ounce of dignity rallied in defiance, a crooked half-smile showing bleeding gums. 'Think about it' I half called as he turned to leave 'How well I share your taste....'

He paused, and for a heartbeat I wondered if he might show a flicker of recognition, betray our connection, but he grabbed her wrist and disappeared into the night, leaving me broken and bloody.

I dusted myself off and made my way to my feet. The world has unspoken rules, veiled in shadow where the light doesn’t penetrate. and that makes life a wild, unending cycle of blows and healing, of loss and discovery - searching for that elusive connection. Sometimes we lose our way but we keep navigating the maze. Because that’s the only way to live; throwing yourself into the path of the storm...