The short story 'Dead Stars' conveys the theme that pertains to a forbidden love, and the conflict between the desires and responsibilities of man. It tells its readers about how we are affected by what society expects us to do from what our heart wants. Even though it was never clarified if there really was true love that sparked between Alfredo and Julia, still he wasn't able to live a different path had he chose her over Esperanza because he was already disposed in a principle of making the supposedly right decisions.