You'd think we'd learn valuable lessons from our mistakes, right? What if we keep making those same stupid mistakes? Does this mean we're not meant for love at all?My involvement in this heartbreak story doesn't come from the perspective you'd first expect, although when it comes to love and breakups, nothing should be expected. Fairytales have an uncanny knack of being ruined at the most inopportune times.Maybe karma is involved with misfortunes of the heart—it might well explain Nina's run of bad luck of late.Of course, it wasn't all like that, not sixteen years ago.It was nearing the end of summer when she met a nice guy at her local bus stop. Both of them commuted to the city each day for work. They struck up a friendship and began sitting on the bus together. One day, he handed her a poem he'd written on a piece of paper the night before. Nina fell for him hard. No one had written her anything, much less a poem. Their three-year love affair seemed perfect throughout. Unfortunately, it ended abruptly when he told her he didn't love her anymore. I'm told that her tears soaked a pillow every night for over a month or so.She kept that poem in her purse for many years. She never knew why she did that, as she hated what it represented. But a part of her wanted to hang onto something of what she once had. A decade passed before she opened and reread it. Time had healed the hurt, comforting her instead of being a reminder of pain. Whenever she had a shitty day, she'd reach into her purse, take out the piece of folded-up paper that held those precious words on it and read the poem to herself. It always made her feel better afterwards.Yesterday, I bumped into a mutual friend of ours in the city."How's she doing?" I asked as we both stood outside Cafe Today.Susie was on her lunch break. "Single—still. Still working at the same place."Susie is an attractive, bright-eyed, leggy brunette. Suzie and Nina went to high school together. They've been good friends ever since graduating."Is she happy?" I asked.Whenever Suzie talks to me about her friend Nina, she guards her words."Happy? Of course, she is," she nodded throughout her words. She paused, gathered her thoughts and then measured each word she spoke again. "Happy, yes, absolutely. She's got a promotion. Yep, earning a lot of money now, a lot. Very happy lady, that one.""Nice," I replied, although I was sceptical due to her insistence on the issue."Y'know, we went shoe shopping the other day, and she found these fantastic red ones on sale. I said to her, 'Go girl! Those heels look stunning on you!' She bought them, and we decided to go to the casino and try them out that night. They worked. Those shoes turned a lot of heads."The flow of information suddenly poured forth—and I know why it did. The unhappy part of her girlfriend's story was minimised as the brightest bits shone through the silvery lights of optimism."Great. I'm happy for her.""She was even hit on by two guys that night. Two! They bought us drinks. Yep, we didn't have to pay for drinks all night long.""Nice. Take those guys home, did she?""No.""One guy?""No! No, guys, you fool. Not that it's any of your business. But she could've if she wanted to. It turned out one was married, and the other was a creep. She can do better. She's much better than that.""She is much better than that," I added.She glared at me, and I saw a deep crinkle develop above her nose. "You! What would you know? You don't know anything about her.""Me? What? All I said was she can do better. I'm agreeing with you. Is she happy or not?""Yes, I said she's happy. I'm just saying... she's... there's just... y'know, oh, forget it, let's just say she's happy and leave it at that, okay?""Okay then. She's happy. Got it."There's a good reason why Susie frowned and snapped at me. I was the one who broke Nina's heart. But I wasn't malicious. Nina just wasn't the one for me. We'd been drifting apart for a while. It wasn't anyone's fault. I didn't leave her for anyone else. We were young and at the beginning of our lives when we started. Our changes were becoming apparent, and I didn't like where they were going.Unfortunately, there's little equity felt in many breakups. While one person's heart breaks, the other appears to move on without regret. In truth, I wasn't happy either. The pain I caused her kept me up at night — and I was lonely, too. All I wanted to do was call her and ask how she was doing. I wanted to hear her voice again. It would've been easier to go back than suffer.But that's not how it works, right? It sends the wrong message. It takes us down a path we didn't want to walk. It's called a breakup, not a hookup. There's a good reason why the word break is used.Susie flicked back her long hair over her shoulders and smiled wryly. "She's still got your poem.""She does?""Yes. She pulled it out at the casino."When that relationship ended sixteen years ago, I was made out to be the world's evilest man. I got messages ...
