proper etiquette to have when you run into an ex (day twenty three)

proper etiquette to have when you run into an ex

when you see each other from across the room where happenstance brought you together
not unlike the first time you met each other
so random that it made you believe in fate
pure chance

you have become different people the second time around

beyond strangers
but no longer familiar

this is not the same person that i fell in love with

this does not serve as an opportunity to remind each other of what went so wrong
or why you weren’t right for each other in the first place
let those facts simply be

hold your tongue
unlike all the times you didn’t back then
back and forth of having the final say

the thing you had most in common back then
was your unwillingness to back down
to give up

stubbornness
bullheaded

until it came to each other
then you did give up

that was the easy part

the hard part was committing to the silence
which she had some trouble adjusting to despite it being her idea in the first place
wouldn’t let go after letting go

you arrived to the same location once again
because life is funny like that
but you forgot to laugh
still feeling the sting of separation and the terms you left on

a brief glance
eye contact
maybe a smile
acknowledging the presence of someone once so close
remembering the better times

wanted to leave it at just that
but she wouldn’t leave it at just that

that moment
condensed every argument
every bickering
and pettiness
over the span of months
into seconds

a concentrated sucker punch
and she knew how to make it hurt
knew how to make you hurt
remembered your weak points from all the times you opened up to her

couldn’t get a word in edgewise from the interr
interrup
int
interrupt
she kept cutting you off

and you walked away
different people yet again
reminded of why it wasn’t right in the first place yet again

you just hoped that life would stop trying to be so funny
and take you seriously for once