What To Do When They Don’t Come Back

They were a constant presence in your life; your best friend, your soulmate, but over time, they slipped away, fading into oblivion as you wondered why you weren’t enough for them. Now, they’re permanently, undeniably absent, leaving only traces of the life you shared to remember them by.

You’ve spent hours upon hours wallowing over your loss, imagining them running straight into your arms again, sorting through photos of them, forcing a smile, holding back tears. You’ve ruminated over every minor transgression, every last misgiving that could have pushed them off the edge of your precipice. You’ve wondered if you were ever enough for them, if they ever truly loved you; but you have finally accepted that you must live without their friendship, without their love, without their tender hugs and sweet kisses.

It’s time to move forward; to forge strong, lasting connections with the loved ones you’ve neglected as you’ve obsessed over your lost love. Rekindle your relationships with family and friends; delicately, carefully sewing the tears in your hearts back together again. Cherish each day, each hour, each moment you spend with the ones you love; recognizing that time is the most precious privilege in existence. Learn that if you take the ones you adore most for granted, they could simply disappear, just like the one who never came back to you.

It’s time to search for a love that lasts; a timeless, unbreakable bond. The wound from your loss may never fully heal, but without love, it will fester, encroaching upon your mind, infecting your heart. The love you seek conceals itself in the most unexpected places; in smiles from strangers and compliments from potential lovers, in caring words from kind souls and consolations from full hearts. The one who left you behind was an irreplaceable soul; full of vivacity, charm, and wit, but you will gradually find the most beautiful pieces of them in everyone you meet. The sadness you feel over the adoration you tenderly miss will gradually dissipate as you open yourself to love again.

It’s time to care for yourself the way they never truly cared for you; purely, fully, deeply, wholeheartedly. They may never return for you, but you will remain with yourself for life, so treat yourself with the utmost care. Shower yourself in unrestrained affection; words of affirmation, delectable indulgences, time reserved for the small joys that enliven your heart. Teach yourself to forgive; to make amends with yourself for your loss, to understand that you mustered every conceivable effort to sustain your relationship, to know indubitably that their decision to walk away was not your fault.

They left and refused to return to you, but your heart will eventually heal itself, filling its cracks with the love you put out into the universe. Rediscover the simple pleasures of life: the family and friends who treasure you unconditionally, the connections you’ve begun to forge with kindred spirits, the care and forgiveness you deserve to lavish upon yourself. As you pine over the one you will never see again, you may find yourself awash in melancholy, but once you consciously choose to release their grip on your heart and lean into the love that surrounds you, you will finally begin to heal.