Monday, January 30, 2017

Unrequited Love

It gets dark early in winter. On a long dark road, a lighted up bus stop glows like the Northern Star on an ink black sky. You trudge through the shin-deep snow, eyes fixed on that island of light,heading straight to it. It's an warm and bright island in a sea of gloom, and you speed up a little, wanting to get there as fast as possible. It takes you a while, and you're a bit out of breath by the time you reach it. You smile a little, glad you managed to make it. But your joy is short-lived.

You realise that the bus you want doesn't stop here. You know that you need to leave, you need to go and find the right bus stop. But leaving the light and going back into the cold darkness is a lot harder and scarier than just sitting there. Even though you know if you don't leave, you'll never get to where you need to go.

And as you stare out into the darkness, the only thing that is the same whether you leave or stay, is the loneliness inside. That's what unrequited love is like.