Tan Cerca Pero Tan Lejos Novels & Stories

Do what you need to do and nothing more. She was right, of course, as much as it pains me to admit. Still, as I brush my fingertips along my lips, remembering the taste of him, the way that cedar scent had engulfed me so thoroughly, pangs of longing pulse through me. I wish I didn’t have to push him away. I wish I could have lingered a little longer. ‘Keep your distance, Clara,’ Marigold tells me again. I groan, pace quickening. She’s right. I know she’s right.

Besides, I only had nothing but resentment for Derek now. My innocent child was sacrificed for the sake of his and Ivy's happiness. I did not have much time left. Instead of spending all my money on prolonging my life, I would rather spend what might be the final month I had left to live visiting a city I was curious about. I had only learned then that Sorreyas, the city that I had been wanting to visit, was not located that far away. It would only take a three-hour flight for me to get there. For nine years, Derek had promised to take me to that city. He flew to Sorreyas every year on our wedding anniversary. Yet, he had not once brought me along.

--- Because this wasn’t about rushing into closeness. It wasn’t about forcing connection. It wasn’t about pretending everything was fixed. --- It was about allowing space. Even while getting closer. --- And maybe— That was the only way this could work. ---

The wind whistled past her ears, and above her was a sky full of stars and a round moon. She saw someone rushing towards her. She thought the scene felt so familiar. Amidst the swaying tree shadows, various scenes kept flashing before her eyes. She looked at the figure above, who was blocking the moonlight. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Slowly, she reached out her hand, and the person above extended his. Their hands could not touch each other, even though they were only two feet apart. The mountain wind howled, and the wind that blew past obscured her vision.

He was looking at her with that careful expression, the one he got when he was about to ask something he’d been sitting with for a while. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I just—” he stopped. Searched for it. “Sometimes this visit you’ve seemed far away. Not always. Not even most of the time. But sometimes I’d be talking and I’d look at you and you were—” he gestured vaguely, “—somewhere else.” The candlelight moved between them. She held his gaze. “Long distance does strange things,” she said carefully. “It takes time to be properly present again. To not be waiting for the call to end or the visit to finish.”

“I never w‌ant to le⁠t g⁠o again.” I close the distanc⁠e‍, our‌ lips mee‍ting in a tender kiss,‍ slow and d⁠eliberate⁠. I‌t hold‌s months of l‌on‌g⁠ing,‍ f‍ear, and finally, relie‌f.‌ There’s no rush, no urgency—jus‌t the quiet kn‌owledge that‌ we⁠’re here⁠, together, safe.⁠

Because this This wasn’t over. Not even close.

My school was not so far from here but none of the acquaintances I knew were going there, It was a few miles but nothing that couldn't be covered in a day and I was grateful for the fact that it was a perfect balance, not too far and not too close to home. I sighed as I felt the presence of another person; Amanda sit beside me voicing out my exact thoughts, she said “ You know, I really think you need this break from the drama” I nodded. “ You still don't know who L is?” She asked, I shook my head negative, “ Well, maybe you'll find out, or not, I mean who knows right? Maybe this distance would bring everything you want closer, maybe this distance would finally make Mac come for you like you

“Nowhere is far enough. Mexico, Australia, Japan, India. I don't care where the fuck you go to, but nowhere is far enough.” A gasp escapes my lips when I realize his hands are underneath my nun-habit now, trailing up my thighs. “Where-where then is far enough?” I ask in a whisper. “Nowhere,” he rasps, his strong hands hiking the dress up. “Even if you left the surface of the earth, I would find you in the next life time… and the next… and the next, until you can't run anymore. Until you’re tired of being in denial.”

[Amanda] I deliberated for a while, wracking my brain for a possible solution. I didn’t even know where I was exactly. My luck had to take a day off today only. “How-how far is this place from the cafe?” I managed to ask, trying my best to keep calm. Alex replied thoughtfully, “About half an hour’s drive?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, “I am not talking about that. How far is it exactly? Like walking distance”. This guy obviously does not understand the meaning of subway and cabs or buses for that matter.