Maybe it was meant to be Until It Wasn’t

I found a girl at the caf, her eyes resting on me longer than strangers usually dare. I asked my friend, “What should I do?” He said over the phone“Guy, go meet her now.” I stood up, heart rehearsing lines my mouth hadn’t learned yet. But before I could moveshe did. She walked toward me. Slow, Certain. And just when the moment was about to become realMy number was called to warm my food.Food before fate.I left. Microwaved minutes, counting seconds like I could rewind time. When I came backshe was there again. Now it was her turn. Her food. Her moment. So I waited.She stepped out. And I froze.She looked at menot once, not twice, but enough to say “Come.”But I didn’t.I walked away, her back fading into distance, my thoughts chasing words I should’ve said. By the time I found themI had already left.My phone died. And I thought“Maybe it’s not meant to be.”But fate has a strange sense of humor. I saw a friend. Borrowed his phone. Looked for her,there she was,walking slowly. Like she knew I needed time to catch up.I reached her. Awkward. Breathless. “Your level?” “Your course?” “Your age?” It sounded wrong. Rushed. But she smiled anyway. She was older than I thought. And just like thatwe began.We talked. We laughed. We flirted.At first,I wasn’t interested. Not really. Just curious. About the girl who saw me first.But she saw more. She liked me. Not just how I lookedbut who I was. And that was new.I had always been shallow. Eyes before heart. Body before soul.But she changed that. She made me feel like maybe liking someone wasn’t about what you seebut what you feel.And slowlyI began to fall too.Two weeks laterI asked her out.She said no.Confusion. Frustration. A quiet anger I didn’t want to admit.Did I read it wrong? Was it all in my head?But she noticed. Of course she did.“We’re moving too fast,” she said. “I’m scared we’ll end the same way.”And suddenlyit made sense.So I waited.We slowed down. We learned each other like pages,And when I asked again,She said yes.And it was good. At first.Then came the cracks. Differences. Clashes. Opinions that didn’t bend.So I spoke. About what hurt me. What I didn’t like. What I hoped we could fix.But all I got was“That’s how I am.”No sorry. No pause. No understanding.Just that.That night, I was quiet. Broken in silence.She said goodbye like nothing had changed.I waited. One day. Two days.Nothing.So I ended it.But deep downI hoped she’d fight. Say something. Do something. Care.Instead, she said“Same here 😂”And just like thatIt ended.All the moments, all the meaning, all the almostReduced to a laugh.And I sat there, heart heavy, mind racing, asking questions that had no answers.Maybe it was fate that brought us together. But maybeIt was just a lesson that felt like love.

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