ArcaNuova · Relationship · Loss · Memory
The Two Losses
A relationship can end inwardly while two people still live side by side. The loss rarely happens at the same time.
A relationship can be lost in two ways.
The first is quiet.
It happens inside oneself.
The other person is still there.
They speak.
They move.
They live beside you.
But something has disappeared.
Not suddenly.
Gradually.
Like a room that was slowly emptied without anyone noticing.
You sit next to each other and realise that inwardly, you are no longer meant.
The second loss is different.
It happens inside the other person.
You are still there.
With everything you are.
But you are no longer present in the other person’s gaze.
You are seen.
But no longer recognised.
The cruellest part is that these two losses rarely happen at the same time.
One waits for the other.
Sometimes for years.
And during that time the relationship continues.
Outwardly.
Inside, it has already become a memory.
And yet something remains.
Not love.
Not hope.
But the quiet dignity of what once was real.
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