Mira traced the rim of her coffee cup, staring at the rain-streaked window. The café was warm, filled with the comforting hum of quiet conversations, but inside her, there was only silence. A silence that had settled ever since Aarav left.
She had once believed love made people whole, that relationships were about two halves completing each other. But when Aarav walked away, she realized how dangerous that thought had been. He hadn’t taken a part of her when he left, he had only shattered the illusion that she needed someone else to feel complete.
“Still lost in thought?” a familiar voice broke through her reverie. Riya, her best friend, slid into the seat across from her.
Mira smiled faintly. “Just thinking… about how we expect love to fix everything.”
Riya sighed. “You don’t need someone to fix you, Mira. You were never broken.”
Mira looked at her friend, the one person who had stood by her even when she was drowning in heartbreak. The one who reminded her, time and again, that love wasn’t just about romantic relationships. It was in friendship, in late-night conversations, in the way her mother still called to check if she had eaten.
“I think, I believed that love should fill the empty spaces,” Mira admitted.
Riya shook her head. “Love isn’t about filling gaps. It’s about being whole on your own and still choosing to share yourself with someone.”
Mira let those words sink in. Maybe love wasn’t meant to complete her, but to add to the person she already was.
As the rain slowed, she felt a shift inside her—small but significant. She wasn’t waiting to be whole anymore. She already was.
Linking this to Fiction Monday – 241 – Prompt – WHOLE
One Response
Shilpa, what a beautiful story! Love is whole in itself and only complete people can love. I am trying to think of something to write for this prompt. Wish me luck.