The Last Message

The day they broke up, it rained heavily. She packed his things into a cardboard box and left it by the door with a note. "Let's stop hurting each other." He read it and replied with just two words: "Okay." Actually, he had typed a lot. He wanted to ask if she could give him another chance, say he knew where he went wrong, even offer to wait downstairs at her place. But in the end, he deleted it all. Three months later, they ran into each other at a supermarket. She was pushing a shopping cart, with another man beside her. He smiled and greeted her, "How have you been lately?" "Very well, and you?" "Not bad either." The two were as polite as if they had never been in love. Back home, he dug out his old phone and found the last message she sent on the night they broke up. "If you're willing to stay, let's talk again." He had seen that message at the time. But his pride made him feel that whoever apologized first would lose. He stared at the screen for a long time and finally understood. Some relationships don't end because of a lack of love, but because two people who are waiting for the other to make the first move, end up with neither taking a step forward. He opened the chat window, intending to send "I'm sorry." After thinking for a moment, he closed it anyway. This time, he finally learned to let go. It was just three months too late.