The Hidden Dates

 It was just

a single date —

the day we met again

after all those years.

But before that...

were countless dates,

engraved

in the silent corners of my heart,

where I searched for you

and failed

again,

and again.

I wandered —

in alleys soaked

with memories of your footsteps,

in raindrops

that whispered your name,

in songs

where your voice once lived.

Nights —

they bled into silence.

The moon bore witness

as I stitched your name

into every breath

I dared to take.

And you...

you lived elsewhere,

in some distant world,

believing

I had chosen to walk away.

But how could you know —

I said goodbye

only to save

your lips

from uttering my name

in bitterness?

That farewell…

was the quietest scream

my love could make.

I feared —

my presence might someday

become the curse

on your tongue,

the shadow

over your light.

So I left,

not because I wanted to —

but because

your peace

meant more

than my presence.

And now —

when you returned

with a smile,

you said,

"You left me… didn’t you?"

What could I say?

I only disappeared

so you’d never carry

the weight of me

as a wound.

So many dates…

that never made it

to any calendar —

just lived and died

in the hollows of my chest.

And yet,

you only remember the one

on which

we found each other again.