As many stories throughout history show, love and relationships have always been complicated. Themes of tragic sacrifice in the relationships of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and Layla and Majnun continue in modern literature. Sacrifice is a theme that has and always will be predominant in literature because it is an admirable act, but one that requires perfect balance. Careful analysis of relationships in the postmodern short stories Will Boast's Coda, Evan James Roskos's How We Handle Pain, and Claudia Zuluaga's Okeechobee produces a rich understanding of the universal truth that relationships require not only sacrifice, but harmonious immolation . When introduced in Will Boast's short story, the relationship between Coda, Tim, and Kate has already failed. The couple dated for years and got engaged, but ultimately called off the engagement. As the story progresses, Tim reflects on both the merits of the relationship and the cause of its failure. After breaking into Kate's apartment, Tim searches for and finds her old engagement ring. He looks at the golden symbol of endless love, then sees a photo of him and Kate next to it. “I was looking directly at the camera, but Kate was turned towards me with a shy smile on her face. My favorite photo of her. You could tell she was in love” (Boast 4). Even after six months of separation, Tim longs for his lost love. Although he acknowledges the chaotic and uncooperative environment in which the relationship was nurtured. Kate is a lawyer and Tim is a musician, which led them to live “disjointed lives, but for a long time that didn’t matter.” Kate left the apartment at seven in the morning, eager to make a good impression in her new office. Right now, middle of paper, it is necessary to accept one's actions and participate in the sacrifice by giving back. Indeed, love is often described as sacrifice, but a more appropriate definition is undoubtedly that of balance. of sacrifice. In these short stories, the common failure of a relationship, due to lack of sacrifice, the common unhappiness, the result of too much (or unwanted) sacrifice, as well as the common unworthy attitude and refusal to sacrifice, are all illustrated . In a relationship, the idea is that two become one – which therefore requires some surrender – but both must not forget their former identities. In truth, for a successful relationship, a sacrificial balance must be found; because at equilibrium, the reactants and the product are able to coexist. Each person must give up parts of their old self for the relationship to work properly, but their own identity does not have to be completely abandoned..