“Sorry if you can forgive me, my friend…”
The morning had been dreadful from the start. The hairdryer broke, the eggs burned, her husband was in a foul mood again, and Lily, without breakfast, barely squeezed onto the only empty seat in the bus. Exhausted, she turned toward the window, unable to bear the irritated faces around her. Everything grated on her nerves—the noise, the jostling, the dust in the streets. But most of all, it was the unease gnawing at her, something she couldn’t quite place.
Something told her today wouldn’t be ordinary.
Then she felt someone watching her. She turned—and her heart dropped. There, across the aisle, sat *him*. Robbie. Her first love. Her heartbreak. Her past.
He looked straight at her… and smiled. *That* smile. The one that used to make the world disappear.
“Hello,” he said softly. “I recognized you straight away. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Lily answered automatically, “Hello… Never thought I’d see you again.”
“How’ve you been?”
“Fine. You?”
Inside, everything churned. She waited, half-hoping to hear his life was miserable—divorced, lonely, unhappy. Instead, he said,
“Couldn’t be better. Wife’s working, son just graduated uni—off to Spain for the summer…”
He was about to say more when he glanced out the window and jumped up.
“Sorry, this is my stop—”
And just like that, he was gone. Wave and all. Forever? She didn’t know. But her heart raced like she was eighteen again, and all the words she’d left unsaid stuck in her throat.
*Why today?* The question gnawed at her all morning at work, her hands clumsy, her thoughts scattered. The encounter left her shaken. At home, when her husband, James, called to say he’d be late, she sat in silence and let herself slip back—back to a time of love, betrayal, and tears.
Once, she and Robbie had been happy. He’d read her poetry, brought her wildflowers, held her hand. They’d been introduced by Vera—her friend, his neighbor. Vera was always meddling: “Have a row, then make up—it makes love stronger.” Lily had believed her. They fought. They made up. Then, one day, she grew tired of the games. She just wanted… to *be*.
She’d met Robbie’s mum once—kind, warm. Lily had even imagined becoming part of that family. She’d been wrong.
Everything unraveled on her birthday. Robbie never showed. Vera did.
“He’s gone to his gran’s,” she said solemnly. “She’s poorly. No one to fetch water or tend the fire.”
Lily believed her—until one evening, walking past the pub, she saw him. Laughing with friends. He glanced her way… and turned his back. She walked home in a daze, crying harder than ever before. Later, Vera came again.
“Forget him. He’s already with someone else.”
And then Lily saw it herself—Robbie holding another girl’s hand. Later, she watched him marry her, grinning as he led her down the aisle. Lily stood frozen on the pavement, unable to look away. That was the end.
Except it wasn’t.
She moved away. Started fresh. A year and a half later, she married James—steady, reliable, a good man. At first, she wondered: *Do I love him?* But in time, she realized fate had given her what she needed—security, a family, two sons.
She rarely thought of her hometown now, except for occasional visits to her mum. Then, on one such trip, everything changed.
Walking back from the shops, she heard a voice.
“Lily? Is that you?”
Turning, she barely recognized Vera—older, her eyes dull. The lively friend she’d once known was a shadow.
“Vera? My God… How are—”
“Not well,” Vera cut in. “Alone. No one wants me. Married a few times—never stuck. No kids… Lily, I—I’m the reason you and Robbie split.”
Lily froze.
“What?”
“I lied to him,” Vera confessed. “Told him you were waiting for another bloke—someone coming back from service. Said you’d leave Robbie the second he returned. I introduced him to that girl, told her to get pregnant so he’d marry her. I broke you both. Out of jealousy. No one ever read *me* poetry or brought *me* flowers…”
“Vera… *why?*”
“Because I was lonely. And you were happy.” Vera’s voice cracked. “I never thought the pain I caused would come back to me. I’ve been punished—by God, by life.”
Lily didn’t know what to feel. Years ago, she might’ve cursed her. But now? She had her family. Her peace. Robbie was just… a memory.
“He still lives near you,” Vera added. “Doesn’t know. I thought you’d never cross paths… But I suppose fate had other ideas.”
Lily didn’t forgive her that day. Not at first. But now, on this bus, meeting Robbie’s gaze—she realized she’d forgiven them all. Vera. Robbie. Even herself, for carrying the hurt so long.
Sometimes, the past returns only to set you free.
She had everything now. And perhaps that had been the true wisdom—walking away in time to find what truly mattered.
