Does true love exist?
Maybe.
Does it really last forever?
Who knows. Miyabi will never bet on it anyway.
It wasn’t that Miyabi was unwilling to believe in the vows her friends had taken just the week before, but mostly, it was that the sweetness and lightheadedness provoked by the emotion called love could only last for a time. For a marriage to work, there needs to be a certain level-headedness and willingness to stay together for a lifetime; more than just acknowledging the other’s faults, one should also learn to live with it. Having being married herself, Miyabi knew what she was talking about. Although it was true that some marriage doesn’t survive past the honeymoon, hers was still on a good track. He was her sweetheart since high school, they were still together all through university. Obviously, the sweetness of their love was still very much present. After graduation, the first thing they did was getting married. They were twenty-two then. It had been pure bliss for one full year. Then for work, he had to travel to another country while her own professional life demanded her to stay where she was. He was on constant moves while she was rooted in the same place. Theirs became a long distance relationship.
It was fine in the beginning. With recent technology, it was as good as though they were in the same place, there were computers, phones and they could each travel to see the other if the longing was getting too much… Still, it wasn’t quite the same. In the end, their professional life got more between them and they hadn’t much time left for the other. Thus, slowly, steadily, they drifted apart and after five years, the decision to divorce was quite mutual. There hadn’t been any cheating, any resentment left, and surprisingly no lingering attachment. Miyabi just felt numb through the whole process. They were together for so many years, but in the end, it ended just like that… Indeed, they were both responsible for this failure or if they had to blame something, then the distance sounded like a good target, rather than saying they didn’t love enough.
Her friends, however, said that they were both too selfish and stubborn, unwilling to adjust their workplaces or schedule to one another. Maybe, that had been the case, but what could Miyabi do about it. Perhaps, just like her friends said, they –herself and her husband- didn’t love enough to put the other first and that theirs was more of contentment than love. Though, Miyabi begged to differ.
Since the divorce, she didn’t go out with anyone, didn’t even know where she was supposed to start. Her whole life she had known only one man. Every one of her acquaintances seemed to be marrying recently, one after the other. Now, they were dead set on hooking her with someone, even though she only divorced last year. When she would reply that she wasn’t ready yet, they surprisingly would gaze at her with pity sighing that it wasn’t true love at all and for some reasons, their resolve to find a partner for her would double. Those friends could be quite exhausting once they were fixed on one mindset. After last week’s marriage, it got even worse.
This was why, right this very moment, she was seating all by herself in the last train to go home. She had indeed, successfully avoided them tonight, lest they would push another poor man in her way. The last one had even been Julia’s direct subordinate! Poor him, what an irresponsible superior he had!
Really, some peace was quite good from time to time. Tomorrow was Saturday, and knowing her friends, they would certainly plan another blind date for her. She could already feel her head ached at the thought. To clear her mind, she took out her phone from her pocket to play through the travel to her station. The train wasn’t packed so she could move freely. The game was quite silly, really and the reason she first started playing it was because she inadvertently clicked on its publicity while on another app and got curious. However, it was still good enough in times like these and playing, she somehow reminisced her teens days when she would search for all kind of ridiculous games to fill her days.
Suddenly, the train shook. A couple of wagons away, cries and shouts could be heard. The light went off. Someone near her screamed, the train shook again, throwing people on the ground, some knocking themselves on the train’s walls. Everyone was shouting and screaming for help as the train suddenly fell from one side while advancing at a high speed.
What happened after, Miyabi wasn’t quite clear. She knew though, that her last thought had been that she should have just taken her friends’ advice and went home with that man who asked her out that evening!
