A Collection of Short Stories
Second Chances
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, uh. . I was, no, I mean . .” she stuttered, trying to compose herself. All of a sudden, it felt like she had forgotten every word in her vocabulary. She couldn’t find a way to ask for forgiveness. She didn’t even have the heart to look him in the eye. If it were the other way around, she was sure she wouldn’t forgive him either.
“After all this time, you decide to show up here? What, is this a joke? Good job, you fooled me,” he replied, confused. He wasn’t sure if she was really asking for forgiveness or the gods were trying to play a trick on him. He was taken aback by the fact that she was here, asking for forgiveness, or at least trying to. “Did you expect that I’d run into your arms like nothing happened? Is that what you wanted?”
“No! That’s not why I came here for! It’s just that I was -“
“You know what? I don’t need your explanation,” he said, cutting her in the middle of her sentence. “Go home and hurt other people’s feelings. I don’t need you.” He couldn’t control his anger. How dare she show up like this? He had been trying to forget everything. Just when he was so close to moving on, she shows up. Great, just the motivation he needed.
She felt the tears hot in her eyes. She willed them not to come out. She couldn’t let him see her cry. She will not be weak in front of him. “Okay, I… I will,” she said with a weak voice. Before those words even came out from her mouth, she already regretted them. “But please, know this - I am sorry. I am sorry for hurting you. I didn’t know how much you meant to me until you left. I didn’t value you like the way I should have. I took you for granted. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
With tears streaming down her face, she turned and left.
“After all this time, you decide to show up here? What, is this a joke? Good job, you fooled me,” he replied, confused. He wasn’t sure if she was really asking for forgiveness or the gods were trying to play a trick on him. He was taken aback by the fact that she was here, asking for forgiveness, or at least trying to. “Did you expect that I’d run into your arms like nothing happened? Is that what you wanted?”
“No! That’s not why I came here for! It’s just that I was -“
“You know what? I don’t need your explanation,” he said, cutting her in the middle of her sentence. “Go home and hurt other people’s feelings. I don’t need you.” He couldn’t control his anger. How dare she show up like this? He had been trying to forget everything. Just when he was so close to moving on, she shows up. Great, just the motivation he needed.
She felt the tears hot in her eyes. She willed them not to come out. She couldn’t let him see her cry. She will not be weak in front of him. “Okay, I… I will,” she said with a weak voice. Before those words even came out from her mouth, she already regretted them. “But please, know this - I am sorry. I am sorry for hurting you. I didn’t know how much you meant to me until you left. I didn’t value you like the way I should have. I took you for granted. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
With tears streaming down her face, she turned and left.
♠ ♠ ♠
I wrote this two years ago.