Two on a Tower

The ending is a total gut punch. Swithin returns to find her changed by time and the shock literally kills her.

“The study of astronomy tends to make one ignore the size of one's own planet.”

Swithin and Viviette think the stars are a private escape. They soon find out the tiny village gossip is way more dangerous than the infinite universe.

Viviette sacrifices her own reputation and future just to keep Swithin's scientific dreams alive. It makes you wonder if love is just another word for total self-erasure.

“The sky was empty, but the earth was full of eyes.”

The tower feels like a sanctuary at first. By the end it feels like a cage where time and social class eventually catch up to them.