Surviving Heartbreak

The Last Conversation

"A Conversation I Didn't Know I Needed"

A year and a half—it feels like lifetimes,
But here we were, no longer tethered by love,
Just a thread of something softer, quieter,
That refused to fray, no matter the distance.

I told you I built the PC I'd dreamed of—
The one we planned, back when "we" meant something.
You smiled, like you always did when I talked too much,
And for a moment, I remembered what it was like
To feel seen by you.

You shared your news—your new car, a trip you took,
The latest airplane simulator.
I hope you play this one, I told you,
Because I know how much you love to fly.
I think I loved the way you loved things,
How you'd light up, like nothing else mattered.

I told you I moved, and I'm happy.
I said it like I needed you to know.
Not because I wanted to prove I'm fine—
But because I am.
And you looked proud,
The kind of pride that lingers in a smile
Long after the words fade.

When I asked for a hug,
You hesitated.
Was it fear I'd crumble,
Or fear you might?
But I wasn't asking for you back.
I wasn't asking for anything, really,
Except a moment to say goodbye
To the version of us I'd held onto for so long.

We laughed like nothing had changed,
But everything had.
The inside jokes still fit,
The rhythm of our voices still danced,
And I think that scared me most—
How easily we slipped back,
Like the past wasn't a chasm between us.

You told me you still had my things.
I said to toss them,
But part of me was glad you hadn't.
It meant I wasn't erased,
That you held onto pieces of me,
Even as we grieved the whole.

I'll never forget how I felt when you left—
How I cut my hair just to feel something,
How I tried to shed every part of you
Like dead ends that no longer served me.
But no scissors could cut the memories,
And no timeline could erase the ache.

Now, here we were,
Talking like nothing had shattered.
But I remember the cracks,
The nights I cried in my car,
The mornings I woke wishing
I could unlove you
And knowing I never would.

I'm no longer in love with you,
But I will always, always love you.
If fate spins its wheel and brings us back,
I know I'd fall again,
But I cannot live in that cycle.
I've built something good without you,
And the cost of undoing it would be too high.

Still, for half an hour,
You fixed a part of me
I didn't know was broken.
We talked, we listened,
We existed together once more.
And though I can't ask you to stay,
I'm grateful for this—
This fleeting, fragile thing we shared.

Love changes, but it doesn't die.
I hope you feel that too.
Thank you for being my first everything,
My first heartbreak, my favorite lesson.
I will forever, quietly,
Love you.

- MistakenGenius