The conversation began with “How was your day? Mine was very complicated.”
It ended a few minutes later with “That’s the problem with you. You never want to know anything about me.”
What was said in between were apathetic murmurs and indirect attacks without any kindhearted purpose.

The time bomb that just exploded had no way of being disarmed because all the cables were rigged for imminent detonation. They were involved in a guaranteed lose-lose scenario where only two victims could be claimed.

The room was left ruined after the blast that brought moments of deafening silence for the next several moments. One went to the bathroom with hopes of being renewed and cleansed of all bad vibes under steaming-hot water. The other went to the kitchen with the hope that a dessert would remove the bitter taste that still lingered around the palate.

They found themselves again on the sofa, each sitting on opposite ends, barracked with their own multiple cushions to create even more obstacles between them. A TV program they both enjoyed acted as the initial buffer that reduced the troubled and intense atmosphere, and began the reconciling work. But it was all for naught. The credits started rolling and they turned off the tv without even giving a chance to bridge the gap that still existed.

Words were exchanged, but none of them gad the shape of the key needed to unlock the vault where they kept their feelings closed shut.

Minutes turned into hours, and the night was about to end.

Each of them started getting ready to sleep, taking turns to go into the bathroom so their bodies wouldn’t rub against each other in that tiny apartment. One went straight to bed, finding comfort in a king-sized weighted blanket. The other sat by the desk, and turned on the computer, ready to waste valuable time watching crap on the internet.

The night went by until it got close to dawn. Now they both lay on the same bed. One staring into the darkness of the ceiling, thinking of absolutely nothing with wide open eyes. The other sleeping soundly, dreaming that everything would be fine when they got up in the morning.

Despite being side by side of each other in the physical realm, there existed a world of separation between them in the emotional one.