May Be It’s Not What I Can Ignore

Chat Log — 9:58 PM, between Mira and Arjun

Arjun: You didn’t call.

Mira: I thought silence would be kinder.

Arjun: Kinder? It felt like abandonment.

Mira: May be it’s not what I can ignore.

Arjun: That phrase again. Mira, I’m tired.

Mira: Tired of me?

Arjun: Tired of “maybe.” Tired of waiting for you to decide if I matter.

Mira: You do matter.

Arjun: Then why do I feel like a placeholder?

Mira: Because certainty scares me.

Arjun: Certainty is the only way I know how to love.

Mira: May be it’s not what I could change.

Arjun: You could change. You just won’t.

Mira: That’s unfair.

Arjun: No, it’s honest. You hide behind doubt like it’s armor. But armor keeps me out.

Mira: And keeps me safe.

Arjun: Safe from what? Me?

Mira: Safe from myself.

Arjun: Then what am I here for?

Mira: To remind me I’m not alone.

Arjun: But you are alone. You keep me at arm’s length.

Mira: May be it’s not sad as it meant to be.

Arjun: Stop twisting sadness into poetry. It hurts.

Mira: I don’t mean to hurt you.

Arjun: But you do. Every time you say “maybe,” it feels like rejection dressed as hesitation.

Mira: May be it’s the only thing I can do.

Arjun: Then maybe I can’t stay.

Mira: Don’t say that.

Arjun: I have to. Because I’m losing myself in your uncertainty.

Mira: You’re pulling away.

Arjun: Yes.

Mira: Why now?

Arjun: Because I realized I’m living in your limbo. And limbo isn’t love.

Mira: May be it’s not in my likings.

Arjun: Then what is? Endless doubt?

Mira: Endless questions.

Arjun: Questions don’t hold hands. Questions don’t stay up at night worrying. Questions don’t love.

Mira: But they keep me alive.

Arjun: And they’re killing us.

Mira: May be it’s not interesting to you.

Arjun: It’s not about interest. It’s about exhaustion.

Mira: You’re leaving?

Arjun: I don’t know. But I’m stepping back.

Mira: May be it’s all in my head.

Arjun: No, Mira. It’s in mine too. I feel the cracks.

Mira: Then what do I do?

Arjun: Decide.

Mira: Decide what?

Arjun: Whether “maybe” is enough.

Mira: May be it’s not what it seems to be.

Arjun: That’s the problem. Nothing with you ever is.

Mira: I’m sorry.

Arjun: Sorry doesn’t fix limbo.

Mira: May be it’s not what I choose to be.

Arjun: Then choose differently.

Mira: I don’t know how.

Arjun: Then I don’t know how to stay.

Mira: If you leave, what happens to me?

Arjun: You’ll still have your “maybes.”

Mira: But may be it’s not what I can ignore.

Arjun: Then maybe it’s time you face them alone.

Mira: Alone terrifies me.

Arjun: And uncertainty terrifies me.

Mira: So we’re opposites.

Arjun: Or incompatible.

Mira: May be it’s not sad as it meant to be.

Arjun: Stop. Please.

Mira: Why?

Arjun: Because every “maybe” feels like a wall. And I’m done climbing.

Mira: Then what do you want me to say?

Arjun: Say “yes.” Or “no.” Anything but “maybe.”

Mira: May be I can’t.

Arjun: Then may be I can’t either.

Chat ends — 11:12 PM. Mira stares at the empty screen, realizing Arjun’s absence is louder than his words. For the first time, she wonders if “maybe” can survive without someone willing to wait inside it.

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