The Elephant

It is a potential that we both know will never come to pass.

You and I will never be more than we already are to each other. You belong to someone else. I belong to no one, and never will. What is between us is silent understanding, shared memories, and unconditional support.

We are nothing together, and never have been. But still, the potential lingers. It waits in the periphery of our every interaction. Neglected, but always acknowledged.

We could have been everything together, if only we both weren’t so different, have completely opposite goals in life, not even our beliefs similar.

Yet, we are also very much alike. If we’d tried, we would have been wonderful together before we were torn apart by reality.

Really, it’s fortunate that we never made an attempt. The inevitable failure would have broken us both. We didn’t need to experience that particular pain in order to understand how devastating it would have been.

No, the regret between us is not this decision. We don’t regret refusing to make a choice that could only lead to eternal pain. Our regret is in knowing that we could never work out, and so we didn’t even get the chance to try.

We regret our wisdom that forever left us caught in a potential that will be forever unfulfilled.