The scandal! The betrayal! The audacity that I, a 'shqiptare,' was not upholding my predestined narrative set out from birth.
“Wow!” he answered after I came clean. “You must really love this guy to fall out with your family over him.”
I could not shirk the lingering feeling of anxiety. How was I going to hide my boyfriend when I got there?
I had also made my boyfriend feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. As if I’d dragged him to a party uninvited.
Your shared Albanian-ness is no guarantee that a relationship will work, as much as this is instilled in us.
My English boyfriend has now learnt the history of Skanderbeg. He can do the intertwined hand eagle and loves mantia.
ElizaAdriani
Eliza Adriani has a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from King’s College London. She now works at a tech startup in London, however spends her free time writing stories that focus on exploring the human condition.
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