Distance.

Love is one thing we can always relate to. In one way or the other, we've all felt it - reciprocated or not. We've not all waded through its waters and came out the other side; but we've all dipped in the ocean of love. But relationships have always been hard. Especially in young love, when responsibility is new and often misunderstood. As we grow older and more mature, after multitude of scars after scars, after becoming numb to the feeling altogether, and becoming different versions of ourselves, we realize that some things don't always work out in life. Distance requires discipline; Love requires sacrifice.

Like many millennials, our story started online. We were in the same school, but never really met. It was a full year until we properly met and fell in love. The four years with her were bliss. She was everything I wasn't, and we loved it. Being different made us complementary to each other.

After our first meet, I went off to college - 440 kilometers away. We only met twice a year when I got home during vacations. The distance hurt, but things were the way they were. She called every morning before leaving to school. I texted every evening after coming back from college. Every time I saw a couple in college, in town or at a coffee shop, it was a reminder of how far apart we were. Yet, we were willing to work through it. Every waking moment was in waiting for her. Every plan was for our future together.

When it finally ended, it was a painful, dredging and slow process of breaking up and bouncing back together until all the drama wore our relationship thin. We can say all we want about distance not being a factor, but not being able to be close to the one you love does have its toll. It's important in a relationship to be spend time together once in a while.

I was young, and in love. Even after ours ended two years ago, all we had left was respect for each other. It was the thought that this person actually bore me for four years - four years that I will continue to cherish and love for the remainder of my life.

Images and text belong to Muthu Kumar (muthukumar@thefeathers.in)