The advancement of technology, social media, and dating apps has made face-to-face love a thing of the past. That's why sometimes it's good to consider whether those expectations of that dream encounter have transformed into mere longings for a time that seems never to return.

​

And established relationships also suffer from "modernism," and unpleasant things happen in the lives of men and women. Like this story, for example.

The man cries and suffers in secret on the rainy afternoon that foreshadows more storms, especially in his eyes, already red from so much salt. It had been barely two months since she had crossed his path again after a hiatus of more than thirty years, and as if she were a miraculous seed, she had made new hopes and passions sprout that time had covered with cobwebs. Once again, the fire was lit, once again the feeling of knowing he was loved and watched by that woman who had once made him understand the true meaning of the word hope.

​

Two months of outings, scheduled meetings, and supposed happiness, and the abrupt end he hadn't expected. Two months, a hundred yearnings, four promised vacations together, and countless desires that were ultimately forgotten.

​

But what happened? Where did those conflicting feelings go? What was going through her head to end so abruptly and without warning something she had begun of her own free will?

​

Like those movies that don't explain how things happen, he found himself in the throes of wondering what he had done wrong that made her decide to leave him in a flash. Thoughts, sequences, and his head working a thousand miles an hour, searching for a clarifying or at least a compliant answer to understand.

​

Have you heard of heartbreak? her friend asked when she told him about the situation she was experiencing. “Heartbreak, dear friend, is the loss of affection or love that someone may have for another, and perhaps what that woman thought she had discovered in those years turned out to be a false belief, and those two months were enough for her to realize it. Does it generate sadness? Yes, of course, and pain, frustration, and a lack of understanding in the heartbeat signals.”

​

Despite his friend's advice and explanations, the man kept trying, walking the same streets where she might be, going back and forth to the bar where they'd met that day, and even buying a bouquet of fresh flowers in case she showed up for the café con leche with a crescent moon that identified them. He also secretly stopped by her house, waiting for a "chance" encounter that ultimately never happened.

​

Meanwhile, time passed, along with tears and a desire for explanation, but she never cried or explained anything. Her heartbreak was deep and powerful, and it was what caused what seemed like a storybook reunion to turn into an ugly, short, and hopeless science fiction episode.