Hey, you.

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I know you asked for space, so I gave it to you. But somewhere in all that space, I just never got around to telling you my side of things.

So here goes – please hear me out.

I’ve always thought that relationships are like road trips; and on the 14th of December, we got into a car. We didn’t know where we were going, but we just drove.

And on the 20th, on a Saturday, we finally caught sight of our destination. But there were two separate routes we could take to get to where we wanted to be.

The first, was a highway. It had no set speed limits, no stop signs, no traffic lights. Nothing to save us from ourselves. It would’ve been a fun route, and we knew that all too well.

The second, was the scenic route. Which – although safer – would take us that much longer to reach where we wanted to go, since the speed limit was low. It had potholes, and bumps, and swerves where it could have ploughed straight through.

Two routes, the same destination. And reasons aside, we took the first.

Along the way, we stopped for a picnic, fed the ducks and took long walks under the moon. We entertained ourselves with ‘I Spy’ and ‘Would You Rather’, and sang along to radio tunes.

They say that the real destination is the journey, and I really enjoyed my time on that route with you.

But I guess we had gone so fast and covered so much distance in such a short time, that I didn’t think – maybe, you just weren’t ready for all that distance, after just getting out of another car from another journey not too long ago.

And maybe, this route just wasn’t for you.

So we pulled over.

And though my foot’s off the throttle, I don’t regret taking this route with you. Maybe I wish we’d taken the other, but there’s no way I’d wish that I had gotten in the car with anyone else.

So if this letter finds you or if you find it, here is what I plead: meet me back at the starting line.

We weren’t on the first route too long, so maybe we could just make a turn back and start our journey all over again on the second.

We don’t need those frivolous time-passing games to savour the journey, we can simply look out the windows and enjoy the view.

And the best part about this route is that: the destination will be optional – if we change our minds, or perhaps lose them, or just never make them up at all.

Because God knows, if we just kept driving on this scenic route forever, that’d be more than alright with me.

Published adaptations: Unwritten