Maybe In An Alternate Universe We End Up With The Ones We Lost

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It was the kind of bittersweet consolation for the hopeless romantics who went through a breakup: that somewhere, in an alternate universe, they actually end up together with the person they broke up with. That in a one spectacular moment, all the stars in the universe will conspire to let things happen the way they want it to be. That in one of those alternate universes, rainy days are not as lonely, the world is not such a hard place to live in, and their love story hasn’t ended. And maybe they’re right; that in a universe where the night sky is too clear all the stars are bright and visible, we actually end up with the people we lost, with the people we once prayed for, the people we once hoped we’d spend a lifetime with.

Maybe in alternate universes, we continue to share mundane but special moments with the ones we once loved.
Maybe there, we still wake up with them in bed, half naked, with the sun lighting our room as if greeting us brighter days ahead. Maybe there, we still have our breakfast delivered because we’re too lazy to get up. Maybe there we still laugh and cry and scream and sigh while watching all kinds of movies and series, with our favorite snacks spread all over the bed. Maybe there still we go to the bookstore, walk directionless at the mall, and buy groceries together. Maybe there, we continue to end the day by falling asleep next to each other, our faces buried in their neck, content, for we sincerely don’t need anything else.

Maybe in alternate universes, they are strong enough to hold on to the rope that once bind us together. Maybe there they would fight for us, the ones they left behind, and not let go of our hand in a time when we needed them the most. Maybe there they are good for us as we are to them. Maybe there we are still okay, we are still happy. Maybe in those alternate universes, everything was just in its right place and we endure all the problems we’d face with them. Maybe there they wouldn’t have given up or cheated or chosen someone else; maybe there all that matters was us.

Maybe in alternate universes, we get to marry the person we once wished to be with forever.
Maybe there we take long, silent walks along the beach. Maybe there we sit on the front porch of our house, watching our kids play across the street. Maybe there we get grow old together, bickering over non-essential things. Maybe there they kiss our forehead and we kiss their cheeks. Maybe there we kiss each other’s hands, in same spot where our wedding rings can be found. Maybe there we actually get to see the gray haired version of ourselves. Maybe there we simply end up together.

Maybe in alternate universes, they are the right person for us, and us the right person for them.
Maybe there our differences doesn’t matter as much. Maybe there the hardships we face do not make us weak but stronger. Maybe there we forgive. Maybe there we let go. Maybe in that universe, our timing is just right. Maybe there our love is as it should be: greater than our mistakes. Maybe there our faults matter less. Maybe there things are easier. Maybe there, they understand us as much as we understand them. Maybe in that universe, we are happy with them for a long, long time.

But this is our only universe.
And as much as we’d like to get a glimpse of these alternate universes we share with the people who were once big parts of our lives, we only get to live in this universe, and in this universe, we lose them. In this universe, our constellation is not perfect, and the possibilities of maybes are not endless. In this universe, our planets spin out of control and to continue loving the people we once loved would only lead to further colossal damage.

In this universe, the roads we walk do not converge in the end and this simple yet bittersweet fact should be enough to make us realize that this, as far as our exes are concerned, is the universe of our reality. A reality that they are no longer within our reach—that they are now beyond our sight. And day by day we have to face this reality with an open heart because the longer we live in these other universes, in these fantasies of not breaking apart, in what ifs and in maybes, the harder it will be to find the planet that’s planet for us.

That’s why I’m ready to travel in this universe with a hopeful heart. I’m ready to find and wait for my planet. I know – and I’m sure of it – that in this vast universe I live in, a planet, or maybe a moon or a star, is meant for me, and that we are bound to collide one day. We shall make a collision too beautiful that we’ll end up creating our own universe. And as for the ones we lost, let us all embrace the hopeless romantics in us and think about the possibility of a multiverses. Let us all find comfort that our love story may have ended but somewhere, in one of the alternate universes, we get to spend a lifetime and find happiness we once shared with them. It’s a bittersweet consolation, I know, but at least there the promises happened, wishes came true, no hearts were broken, and love endured all things.