Money Changes Everything. (Monday Moments #80)

          Both the brothers had been close since childhood. They used to teach each other. They used to play together. They used to fight with each other but never let anyone else get into a fight with the other. They were each other's best friends in the form of brothers. Little did they know what might change this loving brotherhood. As they grew up, they got well-educated and started earning. While the elder one was passionate about finance, the younger one was passionate about his country. While the elder one became a big shot portfolio manager in an MNC, the younger one joined the Government. And that's when their priorities changed.  The elder brother would give lavish gifts home on special occasions. Be it a promotion or someone's birthday. The younger one, on the other hand, wasn't able to spend as much as he could because with his salary he couldn't afford expensive gifts. As the years passed by, they both started living in different apartments. One would travel abroad multiple times for a vacation. But the other would only travel to nearby destinations in the country. 

          The distance was not just geographic but also emotional. They would look at the photos of their childhood and miss the other. They wanted to go to that phase and never grow up again. There was an unsaid and intangible space that didn't allow them to be as together and as happy as they used to be. Just because of the weight of some papers, they grew apart, never really understanding when it all went so downhill. But, sadly, their egos won over their love for each other and that's how money destroyed yet another relationship.

(‘Monday Moments’ is a blog series wherein I write about an incident or a moment in a short paragraph. It’s not a story, but just a short description to express and explore the most common joys and also the uncommon miseries.)

Post Break-Up, Their Version. (Monday Moments #79)

          She was at fault just as much as he was. A comparison as to who ruined their relationship was meaningless because now there was no relationship left to rebuild. In all the time they were together, they had changed so much. The time they first met and the time they last met, there was a visible difference. The problem was that they both took the other as a project. His mission was to make her quit drinking. And her mission was to get him out of his shell. And whenever she drank or he became aloof, they'd be disappointed in themselves for letting the other person down. It was just a project. And this is why, when she became sober and he became an extrovert, love lost. Because the changed personalities didn't fit together. Perfection isn't real. Their originality was what drew them together but when they were changed personalities, they were not drawn to each other. Their projects were successful but they had failed because they lost each other.

          She ran away from her feelings because if she decided to feel the sadness, she'd break down to never recover. He, on the other hand, embraced the sad emotions and felt the heartbreak. They were not there for each other but their successful projects helped them. She did not drink and he did not give up to resort to loneliness. Even if they had broken up, even if they would never be together, their changed personalities would always carry a part of the other with them for a lifetime. Perhaps, how they left a part of themselves in the other was the best goodbye gift they gave to each other.

(‘Monday Moments’ is a blog series wherein I write about an incident or a moment in a short paragraph. It’s not a story, but just a short description to express and explore the most common joys and also the uncommon miseries.)

Post Break-up, His Version. (Monday Moments #78)

(You can read 'Her Version' here.)

          After the way she mercilessly broke up with him in a text message, he had fallen apart. His heart shattered into so many pieces he couldn’t count. He tried to put a band aid on them but what good is a band aid for a deep wound? He hadn’t seen this coming. Yes, they had contrasting personalities. Yes, he couldn’t understand her social anxiety or her panic attacks. Yes, she couldn’t understand his perception. But, he never thought she would leave him. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. Even after keeping his ego aside, crying in front of her and explaining to her all his good qualities, she wouldn’t budge. Even when he was shy, he told her how much he loved her and how in his future he could only see her, their kids and their many dogs living happily together as a family. He let out all those words which he was too scared to tell her and when he let them out, it was just too late. She was done, just like that. And he came undone, just like that.

          He began to drink so much more to remember all the times he spent with her. He began to look at her photos and their photos together wondering if he could just pause his life and rewind it to a happy place. Her smile was beautiful with a bit of shyness in it and her every smile in every photo led him to more tears. He began to re-read his diary to the best days they spent together. At first, he began to crawl on the memory lane only to end up running towards the beginning of it with resting in solitude and nostalgia of happiness and love. Instead of ignoring the sadness, he embraced it and let it sink it in him so much so, that it became a part of who he was. Instead of giving fake smiles, he gave real tears. Instead of pretending to be okay, he let himself, for once, be vulnerable. Instead of thinking about himself, he thought about her. Instead of loving each other, they decided to part ways, because love is never enough. 

(‘Monday Moments’ is a blog series wherein I write about an incident or a moment in a short paragraph. It’s not a story, but just a short description to express and explore the most common joys and also the uncommon miseries.)

Post Break-up, Her Version. (Monday Moments #77)

          She broke up with her boyfriend. It was the most difficult thing she ever had to do; saying goodbye to someone she loved. They had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for so long that they had forgotten the meaning of what it meant to be together or what it meant to be apart. They had lost the count of fights, both immature ones and the serious ones. They were together yet apart. Yes, theirs was the love which was true because it stood the test of time and insecure people but it wasn't compatible or balanced. And funnily enough, neither of them could see how destructive they were for each other. If it is destroying you, then it's not love.

          To survive this separation, she began to work in the office a lot more, workout a lot more, stay alone a lot more and kept herself so busy as to not remember him. She sank in the knowledge of books, only to not sink in the memories of him. She ran until she lost her breath only to not lose her breath crying about him. She danced crazily to upbeat songs, only to not go crazy in reality. She drove so fast as to escape death, only to not escape life. She went so far away from him and herself that even she could't find the trace of who she was. He was not with her anymore and never would be. The friends for whom she left him were not with her either. She only had herself and for a while that's all what she wanted. To stay alone, find herself and not be defined by another person. Yes, it was the kind of love that comes once in a lifetime but yes, it was also the kind that makes you wonder whether love is real.

You can read 'His Version' here.

(‘Monday Moments’ is a blog series wherein I write about an incident or a moment in a short paragraph. It’s not a story, but just a short description to express and explore the most common joys and also the uncommon miseries.)