Before
28/06/2024
It has been months since Akir confessed. He still remembers her face when she heard. Her face held shock, disbelief and bitterness. It was unexpected, he knew. But he couldn't keep it within himself any longer. He wanted it to be known. He still doesn't know why she had said 6 years. He doesn't know what she feels, thinks....or if she will ever return.
She had immediately reached for the phone and called her parents. She had asked him to pack her stuff up. He had quietly obliged.
He saw her sick self leave their apartment. He hadn't stopped her. He hadn't screamed. He hadn't pleaded. He just let her go, and she let go.
It has been months since Akir confessed. She still remembers his trembling hands, his quivering mouth, his fisted palm and his soft voice as he confessed with every bit of his courage. It was unexpected, which scared her. She had kept him hanging too long, she knew. She wanted to confess first. She wanted to say it when she was healthier, which was only imagination. She should have done it. In fear she could only run away. She thought she might die. She felt her heart contract.
Without realising her cheeks had turned red and were glistening with tears at how delicate and assuring those 3 words sounded. She feared the warmth those 3 words held. She had called her parents, had him pack her stuff and she was leaving. She knew she could turn, speak to him, cry, yell all her anxiety. Yet she let go and he let her.
She knew he saw her back. She hadn't turned. She hadn't said goodbye. She hadn't had the courage for anything. She had only been afraid of how boldly he loved her, how courageously he had wrapped her in his warmth and always only did the one thing she wanted. Stayed.