The Couple - A Mini Story

"Hey."

"Hey... How’ve you been?"

"Good. You?"

"Yeah, good too."

"Feels strange, doesn’t it? Sitting here like this."

"A little. But it’s... nice. Familiar."

"Yeah, it is. How are the kids?"

"They're doing great. Maya just started painting, you know??

Got that artistic streak from you, I think."

"She always loved colours. I remember her finger-painting the walls when she was three."

"Yeah, we never could get that stain off."

"And Ishan?"

"Busy with football. Never without a ball at his feet. He’s getting taller, too.?

Almost my height now."

"That’s hard to imagine... last time I saw him, he was still so little."

"Time flies, doesn’t it?"

"Yeah. Too fast sometimes. But... they’re happy.."

"You did a good job with them."

"We both did. Even if we’re not... you know, together."

"Yeah. I think we’re doing alright."

"Funny, though, how life turns out.?

I mean... us. Who’d have thought we’d be sitting here after everything?"

"Yeah. Divorce wasn’t exactly in our plan, was it?"

"No. But... I don’t know. Maybe it’s what we needed."

"I guess we’re better this way. Happier, even."

"I still remember those early days though. We had so much fun, didn’t we?"

"Yeah, we did. The late-night movie marathons, the impromptu road trips with the kids. Maya would fall asleep, and Ishan would ask a million questions."

"And you’d answer every single one of them."

"Well, someone had to. You were always too busy making up stories for him."

"He liked my stories."

"He did. So did I."

"Still telling them?"

"Not as much. Not like before."

"Why?"

"Life, I guess. Things change... priorities shift."

"Yeah, but it’s good to see you still have that spark. Even if you don’t use it as much."

"Thanks. And you... still into hiking?"

"Yeah, every weekend. Clears my head. Helps me feel grounded."

"Must be peaceful."

"It is. You should come sometime."

"Hmm... maybe."

"You look different, you know. Lighter."

"Yeah? Maybe I feel lighter. There's something about... I don’t know, doing what you love without any expectations. No pressure."

"Yeah. It’s good to see you happy."

"You too. I can see it in your eyes."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We’re both... finding our way, I guess."

"We are. And that’s okay. Better than okay, actually."

"It is. The kids... they don’t ask anymore, you know? About us. I think they’ve gotten used to it."

"They’re strong. Maybe stronger than we give them credit for."

"Yeah. And... I think we’ve been doing alright, co-parenting and all."

"We have. I mean, they’re growing up, figuring things out on their own now."

"Yeah. It’s weird, not needing to be there for every little thing anymore."

"I know. Remember when we couldn’t even go to the bathroom without one of them banging on the door?"

"I don’t miss that part."

"Neither do I. But I do miss some of it. The chaos. The noise."

"Yeah. I do too."

"But... it’s nice, you know? Having space again. Rediscovering who we are... separately."

"It is. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past few years."

"Me too. I didn’t realise how much I needed it."

"We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?"

"Yeah. And it’s good. Really good."

"You ever wonder, though? About us?"

"Sometimes. But not in a regretful way."

"Same. I think we made the right choice."

"We did. For both of us. And the kids."

"They’re turning out okay."

"They are. Despite everything."

"Maybe because of everything."

"Yeah... maybe."

"So, what now? Just... keep going?"

"Yeah. I think we just keep going. New paths. Wherever they lead."

"And we’ll still have this. These conversations."

"Yeah... that’s enough, isn’t it?"

"It is. More than enough."