As seen in many stories throughout history, love and relationships have been perpetually complicated. The themes of tragic sacrifices in the relationships between Mark Antony and Cleopatra, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, Layla and Majnun continue in modern literature. Sacrifice is a theme that has been, and will forever be, prevalent in literature because it is an admirable action, but requires a perfect balance. A careful analysis of relationships in the postmodern tales Coda by Will Boast, How We Handle Pain by Evan James Roskos, and Okeechobee by Claudia Zuluaga yields a rich understanding of the universal truth that relationships require not just sacrifice, but harmonious immolation. .By the time she is introduced in Will Boast's story, the relationship between Coda, Tim and Kate has already failed. The couple dated for years and became engaged, but eventually 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 infinite love and then sees a photo of him and Kate next to it. “I was looking straight into the camera, but Kate turned to me with a shy smile on her face. My favorite photo of her. You could see she was in love” (Vantato 4). Even after six months of separation, Tim thirsts for his lost love. Although he recognizes the chaotic and uncooperative environment in which the relationship was nurtured. Kate is a lawyer and Tim is a musician, leading them to live “disjointed lives, but for a long time that didn't matter. Kate left the apartment at seven every morning, eager to make an impression in her new studio. A noo... middle of the paper... ely needed to accept his actions and participate in the sacrifice by giving back. Indeed, love is often described as sacrifice, but a more suitable definition is undoubtedly, a balance of sacrifice. Exemplified in these stories are the common failure of a relationship, due to the lack of sacrifice, the common unhappiness, as a result of excessive (or unwanted) sacrifice, and the common unworthy attitude and refusal to sacrifice. In a relationship, the idea is that two become one - thus requiring a certain surrender - but the two must not forget their previous identity. Truly, for a successful relationship, you need to find a sacrificial balance; since at equilibrium the reactants and the product can coexist. Each person must give up parts of themselves for the relationship to function properly, but their identity does not have to be completely abandoned.