train stations
passing by.
Have you ever thought of the journey of life as simply a train ride, passing through stations?
Sometimes people join your ride for a little while, then get off at the next stop.
Some stay for the longest time, while others leave before you are ready. And sometimes, you find yourself lost between stations, unsure of where you are going.
Once in a while, you meet a stranger on the ride.
You get lost in conversation, caught between curiosity and attraction. A glimpse of excitement makes you forget your destination for a moment.
You know you will have to keep going because you have your own journey to venture on. But in the meantime, your heart cannot seem to say goodbye. It lingers a little longer at the station, unwilling to make another departure.
Maybe just one more conversation.
One more laugh.
A gentle touch before goodbye.
Holding them a little tighter.
“Just in case you might have a bad day.”
Or simply because.
You know this will not last forever.
You know either of you could leave at any moment.
You let yourself linger a little longer.
Let yourself love them a little harder.
To make up for the rest of the journey that you will not be traveling together.
Sometimes, when I look at the people I know I will eventually leave, I wish I could love them a little more today. Give them another touch of comfort, another care package, share a few more stories from my day—just to make up for all the days and moments we will no longer share together.
When you realize that you never know when you will hug someone for the last time.
you learn to make every hug tighter.
A little longer.
Just because…
One of my favorite stories is the trilogy Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight.
It was inspired by a true story. The movie director met a woman on a train and fell in love with her. Instead of continuing to their destinations, they got off at a random station and spent one night together. Afterwards, he lost contact with her. Years later, he made the films, hoping somehow to reach her again. Eventually, he learned through her family that she had passed away.
The most fragile thing in life is life itself. Perhaps that is why every conversation, every laugh, every embrace becomes so precious once we realize it cannot last forever.
As I once told someone, the simple thought that our lives once passed by one another—the conversations we had, the laughter we shared—has already been beautiful enough for me.
Because life is, indeed, too short.
You never know when you will have your last moment with someone.