Tan Cerca Pero Tan Lejos Novels & Stories

"Enjoy yourselves." Trent raises his glass. "To us!" I raise my glass smiling. "To us." We toast as our glasses clink. I sip the champagne. "Please tell me where we are going. I'm begging of you!" "It's a place I have wanted to take you for quite some time now." "Then just give me a small hint." He squints his eyes at me. "Just a small hint?" "Yes. Just a small hint." He whispers to my ear. "It's far far away."

Two adults standing far apart. Both are reaching for the same child. Neither realizing how close they still were to each other.

Whatever connection i felt tore the second he turned and left. why did I feel so weak in my knees when he was close to me? TBC

Not even close. Not yet.

It felt like a fist squeezing my chest. "I'm sorry, but your balance is zero. You're not our client. Our staff are busy. We're not searching the streets for a non-client." "Two kilometers? Even if you were two feet away, your balance would still be zero." Her voice went flat. "Sorry, Ms. Keyne. I have work to do. Please come recharge as soon as possible." Click. The line went dead. I stared at the endless line of red taillights. Despair hit from deep inside.

Somehow, in their eyes, I had become the problem. We weren't the same kind of people. I apologized to Wyatt for wrecking his birthday and told him plainly I wouldn't regret walking away. My application for overseas study had already been approved. In a month, I would leave Riverton for a program in Amerinth. For the next few days, Bernard didn't contact me, but Vera did. She kept sending me intimate photos of the two of them. I neither responded nor blocked her. I wanted to see how long their little fling could last.

“Ready to order?” Fine, don’t tell me, Karli thought to herself as she gazed at Jordan. But I will find out, mark my words. Jordan was increasingly distant through the meal; she could feel whatever was weighing on him rolling toward her, a palpable aura of tension blanketing them both. They waved off dessert and prepared to leave. After he settled the bill Jordan escorted her to the truck, making sure once again to see her settled comfortably before he got in the driver’s seat. They rode in silence back to Sarah’s apartment complex.

I took a deep breath, opened the tracker on Edith's smartwatch, and drove to the location: an amusement park. There, I stopped dead. Victor, in a casual t-shirt and jeans, held Helene close, their laughter warm and intimate. Edith was riding a carousel, grinning and posing for photos. Helene snapped pictures, then leaned in to kiss Victor's cheek. They looked like a perfect family of three, while I stood rooted, an outsider stealing glances at their happiness. This park was famous. I'd suggested bringing Edith here so many times, but she had always dismissed me. "Mom, you're an adult. Don't be so childish. This place is a waste of time."

"Working with what we've got." After he left, I drove back to my apartment feeling the weight of separation more acutely than before. Seeing him in person had reminded me what I was missing—not just physical presence, but the ease of being together. The casual touches. The shared silences. The intimacy that didn't require scheduling or Wi-Fi. That night, Clara called. She'd just finished midterms and sounded exhausted. "How's the long-distance thing going?" she asked. "Better than expected, worse than I'd hoped," I admitted. "It's functional, but it's not the same as being together."

Because walking away from him is one thing. But walking away from myself? That feels like a different kind of loss. And as my inbox refreshes, one thought settles deep and undeniable: This isn’t distance anymore. This is proximity. And whatever comes next? It’s going to cost us both.