Cracked

The anguished cry of a friend whose heart got broken by a man still rings in my ears. When she told me about the separation in between sobs, head shaking, and chest clutching, I was dumbfounded. They were together for 30 years! That’s a lifetime from a dog’s perspective.

They didn’t believe in marriage so they never walked down an aisle littered with calla lillies, nor donned a long, lacy white dress or tux. They didn’t pronounce “till death do us part” in front of gushing friends and family but from the stories she shared, they were happy and content with each other. At least, until they weren't.

How does one walk away from a lifetime of memories? Is it really that easy to turn your back on someone you’ve been with through 30 years of dinner conversations, countless moments of laughter, stacks of coffee cups, and even buckets of tears? They have witnessed so much of life together that the hopeless romantic in me thought they were destined to live out the next 50 years in each others’ arms.

An adage recently popularized in the Philippines comes to mind: Walang forever! (There’s no such thing as forever). The lovelorn often quote this in a state of bitterness although they secretly wish they’d find it in the eyes of someone someday. My friend thought they had the “forever” kind too. A love so strong the force of it would linger on after they’re gone. But now it’s merely a whisper she releases into the void. 

I, of course, didn’t know how to comfort her. I offered a few well-meaning phrases that she probably didn’t hear next to the deafening sound of her heart cracking in two. The hugs I gave seemed a poor substitute for the embrace that she craves. I could only hope that the answers to the prayers I lifted up would soon find their way to her doorstep and give her back the smile she throws into the day every morning as she steps outside. 

Cracks