One Saturday afternoon, in a busy cafe, she met with her ex. It has been 4 years since they last spoke, and this meet-up was very out of the blue.
"Do you mind meeting up?
"Why?" she asked.
"For selfish reasons but unfathomable."
"Context, please?" she added.
She only received the tip of the iceberg, but she agreed anyway.
So there she was, in the corner of a cafe by the door, sitting in a 4-seater table. Not knowing what to expect nor what exactly she was feeling, she planned her early arrival to have enough time to settle down.
She drank her ice-blended mocha drink while trying to play with words on her small pink notebook. Whether it was for the actual likeness towards writing or simply a distraction for her starting-to-be-restless mind, she wasn't sure anymore.
Less than an hour later, a familiar figure arrived. And as pre-discussed, this character from her past came with a plus one. Weird, yes. But nothing was normal in any angle of this whole situation anyway.
They exchanged hellos.
Soon after, the seat across her was finally occupied, leaving the two other spaces untouched. Her ex's current girl settled on a table at the other side of the cafe— partly to work and partly to give them privacy to talk.
But it has been 4 years. What else is there to talk about? And why?
"What's up?" she asked
And the story about this weird dream that triggered this conversation began.
From not knowing what to say... they ended up opening up wounds— both healed and unhealed; old and new. And like the old times, both tears and laughter was shared.
Hours passed, her ex's spot across her was replaced by the current girlfriend. As any ex-and-present encounter, it was awkward at the start.
Who would talk first? What would one say?
"Hi."
"Hi."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. yes. How about you?"
Maybe it was the air or perhaps the maturity of both girls, the awkwardness was easily transformed into a meaningful conversation. Misunderstandings got cleared up and apologies where exchanged.
The conversation went on smoothly... too smoothly that later, both three shared the same table already.
A lot have been talked about. A lot have been processed.
The day started with apologies and it ended with gratitude.
She, too, felt genuinely grateful. A unique kind of peace was felt.
But as she was once again alone with her thoughts in the darkness of her room, she realized that although the closure did give answers to hanging questions, it also made her feel like she had to start moving forward... again.
Now for different reasons... but not knowing exactly what.. nor how.
Maybe she just needed a good cry. The one where she doesn't have to catch her tears before they run down her face. The one where she is free to stop only when she wants. The one where she can wail and bawl without worrying about other people nor the puffy eyes as an aftermath.
Because why is it that even when feeling peace, she still felt like there was something she needed to mend?
herkeepsake
❤
Sweet but I would feel humiliated if an ex initiated a meet-up and shows up with company. I mean if he needed or they both needed closure, that could be done without the presence of a third party. Verbally stating there’s someone in the picture would be enough for boundaries to be respected.