Never Meant To Be

For them to meet, people might call it fate, simply because it felt right, even when they both knew it was wrong.

Both equally covered with wounds all over them, their gazes met, with the grim expression that mirrored their own.

It clicked that they were the same.

In the middle of a chaotic period where lives are lost almost every passing second, destruction were around everywhere you go and the screams, never ending, heart wrenchingly loud echoed painfully; new ones piercing their ears, old ones still echoing in their ears.

War.

She took a step forward, slightly staggering from her twisted ankle and coughed from the dust. He looked up and their eyes met. Her hazel green eyes were now a muddle of pain and hidden fear, making it a darker shade. While his eyes were supposed to be bright and golden but they were now dimmed like they had lost their light and hope.

Yes, they were the same. Innocent people involved in a war, struggling for just one thing -- to live, yet those eyes showed that they had seen so much just to stay alive.

"...Are you...okay?" Croaky voice, probably from screaming or crying too much. She still heard him, despite a loud booming sound that they assumed to be a bomb far, far away.

"Yes."

Even though she had lost everything except for her life, she was okay. Because she was alive. She was breathing, warm and still alive. She refused to look at her dead heart now.

Exhaustion crept up to her, and she didn't see the reason not to, so she made her way towards him and sat down right beside him, leaning against the large rubble behind them.

They sat together without a single word, savouring the silence between them, despite still being in such a loud environment. Too much had happened, and it was too much to handle, so right then, silence was too precious.

Maybe it was just their imaginations, but for a brief moment -- merely three seconds -- it was as though time froze, because there were no screams, bombs going off or metals clashing. They both enjoyed that silence, before everything restarted, the war going on and on and on.

"Were you alone?" He asked.

A simple question, hiding a meaning much deeper.

Did you lose anyone?

"No." It took all she had to answer.

Yes.

And he didn't ask anymore. Their eyes both turned blank, memories forcibly rewinding.

After what seemed to be like an eternity, he added, "Me, too."

She acknowledged his answer.

After that, they did something outrageous. They started talking about everything except for where they were. They talked about their past and future, but they threw away their present.

They clicked so well, nearly agreeing to everything the other said. It was like talking to a really close friend, that warm feeling blooming in their hearts. The pain was numbed, and a feeling akin to love continued to blossom.

They smiled, they laughed, they had fun, all the while burying their suffering that was trying to pull them back down.

The pain could wait, but for now they would laugh.

They lost track of time, momentarily forgetting about what they needed to do. Soon they remembered, and they both knew it was time to leave. To continue their part in this war.

Standing up, they bid their goodbyes.

They would have been right for each other, but it was the worst time to meet.

And so, they turned around and decided to forget the other. Because right before they parted, they both realized they went opposite ways. They were of opposite sides of the war. Thankfully, they didn't ask for names. If not, they would have had something to hold on to other than their lives.

So even when their hearts felt like they belonged to each other, they had to leave. It was a fact, no arguments needed. And between them, no one was right or wrong, because after all, war didn't determine who was right, only who was left.

Maybe it was fate, but they were not meant to be.