They say some threads of destiny are sewn so tightly, no distance nor time can unravel them. We met, as we did every year, keeping alive the promise of a bond that had stood steadfast since school days a friendship that had weathered our separate cities, careers, and chapters.
This time was different. The air seemed heavier, as though it carried unsaid words and hidden emotions. I shared my new beginning, trying to frame my excitement amidst the drink and laughter. As the night waned, we smoked under the stars, our conversations fading into comfortable silence until sleep beckoned.
But it wasn’t until the still hours of night that the shift revealed itself. I woke softly to his gaze, his hands tenderly massaging my head. For the first time, I saw something in him a longing that transcended years and walls we had built. A kiss, hesitant yet certain, and a hug so protective it felt like home. His words followed in the quiet. _"I should have approached you earlier. And now, in this moment, I cannot take you away."_
And there it was—the truth I never expected. Years spent thinking I knew him, unaware that he carried a love for me, unspoken and buried. His courage broke through, too late and too soon. I felt torn between the weight of my planned life ahead and the pull of the untold story he wanted to write with me.
As morning broke, I left, my heart heavier than my footsteps. Some decisions reshape us, some we cannot make. And some? They haunt us in the echo of words we weren’t ready to hear.
This time was different. The air seemed heavier, as though it carried unsaid words and hidden emotions. I shared my new beginning, trying to frame my excitement amidst the drink and laughter. As the night waned, we smoked under the stars, our conversations fading into comfortable silence until sleep beckoned.
But it wasn’t until the still hours of night that the shift revealed itself. I woke softly to his gaze, his hands tenderly massaging my head. For the first time, I saw something in him a longing that transcended years and walls we had built. A kiss, hesitant yet certain, and a hug so protective it felt like home. His words followed in the quiet. _"I should have approached you earlier. And now, in this moment, I cannot take you away."_
And there it was—the truth I never expected. Years spent thinking I knew him, unaware that he carried a love for me, unspoken and buried. His courage broke through, too late and too soon. I felt torn between the weight of my planned life ahead and the pull of the untold story he wanted to write with me.
As morning broke, I left, my heart heavier than my footsteps. Some decisions reshape us, some we cannot make. And some? They haunt us in the echo of words we weren’t ready to hear.
