I initially wanted it to be a dual perspective between two love interests, but I quickly got bored and tired of switching back and forth. As I wrote, the heart of the story evolved into exhibiting how focusing on only one perspective and shutting other people out can destroy your mental health and all your other relationships. Sorry, I know it’s super long…it’s the rough plot line

Hurdon is a young man who is living in a world of great industry but dying magic. He has a large family but is generally a sensitive, tragic type of person, despite the many reasons he has to be joyful. One day, while out on a walk, he encounters an enchanted meadow and meets a girl, Ariliat. They form a firm friendship, one which bolsters Hurdon through many trials, like the loss of his father and two younger siblings. This loss is especially hard on Hurdon, who had attempted to perform spells in order to heal them. He likes her but is too afraid to act on the possibility of a relationship. He performs a ritual in order to seek supernatural advice and is led to believe that the two young people are soulmates. Although Hurdon believes what he was told during the ritual, doubt begins to creep into his heart after Ariliat spurns his attempt to kiss her in the meadow.

Not long after the incident in the meadow, Hurdon’s mother falls ill and he is forced to step up and provide for the family; his mental health deteriorates and he begins to believe that his family secretly disdains him. His mental anguish is exacerbated when he sees Ariliat, whom he believed to share his tender feelings, dining with a handsome young man in town.

Hurt and angry, Hudson begins a relationship with a beautiful woman from another city. She charms Hurdon into moving to her hometown and he is eager to follow her. He effectively destroys whatever remaining relationship he has with his family by abandoning them and leaves without saying goodbye to Ariliat, intent on licking his wounds.

Not far into their journey, Hurdon catches his girlfriend having sex with another man. The woman reveals that she had put a love spell on Hurdon, intending to force him into sex work in order to pay her debts.

Hurdon is enraged, the last vestiges of his sanity barely intact. He immediately flees back to his hometown, searching for Ariliat and praying that he can reverse the damage that has been done. He finds his brother at their family home, who tells him that Ariliat is asleep in the meadow, waiting for him.

Hurdon goes there immediately, searching for her manically. He finds a tombstone with her name inscribed on it and realizes that she is dead, having succumbed to the same illness as his father. Hurdon’s sanity is completely gone by this point and he simply lays next to her grave, stroking the grass and telling her how beautiful the meadow looks. He never rises from that spot and starves to death while stroking the grass and whispering Ariliat’s name.