"...and so she said goodbye"

He came out of the bar, sober. He was surprised that he didn't even have one beer.

He had a faint smile on his face, almost unnoticeable. But his heart was pounding hard --- so hard that it didn't feel good at all.

"Am I sad?" he thought to himself, "or am I happy?"

It's been two years now that he was struggling --- struggling over the choices between leaving or staying for her.

"Give him a chance," he remembered saying that to her,"maybe he's busy, try to talk to her. Don't give up so easily!" He knocked his own head while he said that to her. You idiot! What are you doing to yourself?

So she did give him a chance, and their love flourished.

And what about me? He thought.

He knew from the start that it is not going to happen, telling himself that he is just a good friend to her, and he wants to see her live happily.

10,000 miles apart! What can you expect from that?

So he decided to be her best friend, advice her when she needs help. He knew that he couldn't give her more comfort than those of words. If she needs a hug, she would have to get it from "him", not me, so I have to help them to get back together.

It's not that she didn't feel his strong feelings towards her, in fact she herself felt the same way when her relationship was in the bottom of the abyss. But then he helped her to stand up again, and pushed her to give it another shot.

3 hours ago she gave him a short message on the messenger, telling him that she signed the paper and tried the wedding gown. She thanked him for everything.

He was planning his European tour right then.

"It might be a good thing that it hasn't be planned out yet," he thought, not without a feeling of bitterness.

And so they parted, without ever meeting each other before.