DjMae23
The Love That Was Only Mine
Elias met Clara when they were 19, sitting next to each other in a literature class. She laughed loud at bad jokes, marked pages of books with little doodles, and talked about her dreams like they were stars she could reach out and hold. From the first day, Elias felt like the world shifted a little softer whenever she was near.
Then talk about how he loved her-how he'd walk her home even when it was out of his way, bring her favorite drink every morning, listen to her talk for hours whether it was about happy things or sad ones, he thought that all these moments meant something, that maybe she felt the same too, because she'd smile at him, lean on his shoulder, call him her favorite person.
One rainy afternoon, they sat under a shelter, and Clara was talking, eyes sparkling, telling him about someone she liked-how that person made her heart race, how every little thing they do feels special, how she hopes they'd notice her. And Elias realized, that's exactly how he felt about her. And he realized too, she never looked at him that way. All the warmth she gave him was just friendship, nothing more.
Then he tried to tell her once, right? Maybe he gathered courage, told her he loved her. And she looked sad, held his hand, said "Elias... you are the most important person to me, but what I feel for you isn't that kind of love. I'm sorry." And that broke him, but also made everything clear.
Then the time after-he still cared, but slowly he learned that love doesn't always have to be mutual to be real. He loved her, every bit of it was true, even if it was only his feeling. He learned that loving someone is also accepting that you can't force feelings, that it's okay to love and not be loved back, because that love taught him how to be kind, how to give, how to see beauty in others.
like years later, they're still friends, and Elias looks at her sometimes, and the sharp pain is gone, replaced by softness.