And that night she wept, wept for all the dreams she never fulfilled, all of the goals she never reached, all of the experiences she never had. But most of all, she wept for the relationship she could never have with the man she loved with all of her soul. Next to her, the same man silently cried his own tears of regret for what he knew he would need to do.
The beauty of the day contradicted her stormy mood. She spent the night questioning the love of the man she knew she loved more than she could say. The insults haunted her; insults that were never spoken floated in her mind, threatening the tethered hold on her sanity. Preservation overruled all thought, leading to numbness, creating an empty shell to inhabit her place in the world. The empty shell gave way to simmering anger as he slipped into the room. The energy was just below the surface, crackling at her fingertips, waiting to be harnessed. As she followed him out, her emotions confused her; she wanted distance, but she wanted to be held. She wanted to scream, kiss him, love him, cleave to him, run away from him. She didn't know what she wanted, but what she received was what she never expected. The drive was tense at best; his rambling alerted her to his distressed state. They soon arrived at her favorite place, and it was breathtaking that time of year. The trees just blooming, the flowers budding, and the gentle stream quietly rippling tantalized her senses, but did nothing to soothe her soul. As he motioned her to join him on a rock by the stream and held her in his arms, she thought the world would right itself, and their love would overcome this strife. His next words, however, would shatter her fragile soul. He held her as she cried for her loss, begging him to reconsider. Her life dissolved around her; she could no longer hold him tenderly, kiss him as only lovers do, stand beside him as the one he loves. She could no longer show her love to him emotionally or intimately. As he left her with her thoughts and tears, she replayed the scene continuously, blaming herself for her greatest failure in life. As the evening wore on, her tears were her only companions, streaming from her eyes, carrying a piece of her soul each time. And that night she wept, wept for the fears that had consumed her, the doubts that had plagued her, and the insecurities that had pushed him away. But most of all, she wept for the relationship she could never have with the man she loved with all of her soul. Miles away, the same man cried tears of sorrow for what he had done only hours ago.