A girl once asked her fiancé.
Her: Tell me… whom do you love most on earth?
Him: You, obviously!
Her: In your heart, what am I to you?
He (thinking for a moment then looked intently in her eyes): You are my rib. In the Bible, it was announced that God saw that Adam was lonely during his sleep; so God plucked one of Adam’s rib and made Eve. It is believed that every man has been since looking for his missing bone. They say when you find the woman of your life, you’ll no longer feel the lingering ache in your heart.”
After their wedding, the couple had a pleasant and happy life for some time. But a few years later, the couple began to drift apart due to their busy lifestyle. They had worries and nothing to fall back on. Their life had become boring. These challenges posed by life’s harsh realities began to gnaw their dreams.
The couple began to have quarrels, and every feud became more heated. It got so bad once that the girl decided to leave the house. While she was going, she cried, “You don’t love me!”
The boy despised her words and retorted impulsively — “Maybe, it was a mistake for us to be together! You were never my missing rib!”
She turned towards him and stood motionless for a long time.
He immediately regretted what he said, but spoken words are like spilled ink — you’ll never be able to take it back.
The girl went home to pack her things and was determined to call it off. Before she left the house, “If I’m not the missing rib that you were looking for, please let me go. It might hurt less that way… let’s go on our separate ways and look for our own partners.”
They got separated.
Three years passed.
He never got married again. Indulged in his work and didn’t leave time for anything else. Even still, he made sure to know the girl’s whereabouts without her getting to know.
She had left the country; Got married to a foreigner, and then got divorced again.
It broke his heart to realize that she never waited for him. The clock struck 12. On the most lonely night of his life, he lit his cigarette and felt a lingering pain in his heart. Yet, be couldn’t bring himself to admit that he was feeling all this because of her absence.
One day, they finally came face to face at the airport — a place where there were many reunions and good-byes. He was traveling for business, waiting for his security check. She was standing there, on the other side, alone. It was just a piece of glass separating separating them.
She smiled at him gently.
Him: How are you?
Her: I’m fine. How about you? Have you found your missing rib?
Him: No…
Her: I’ll be flying to New York on the next flight.
Him: I’ll be back in 2 weeks. Let’s meet for coffee when you’re back? My number’s still the same. Nothing has changed.
A small curve surfaced on her freckled face. She then turned around and waved good-bye.
One day before the end of 2 weeks, he heard of her death. She had perished in New York in an event that shocked the world.
It was midnight. Once again, the boy lit his cigarette, and just like before, he felt the lingering pain in his heart. He finally allowed himself to admit that she was the missing rib that he had once carelessly broken.
When people are angry, they end up saying things they do not mean.
We vent our frustrations only at the ones we love, and though we know that we ought to “think twice and act wisely,” it is often easier said than done. Things happen every day, a lot of which are outside our control. Let’s treasure every moment and everyone within our own lives. Tomorrow might never come; give and accept what you have.
Thanks for reading :)
