The reality of the situation struck him like a personal nightmare he might never wake up from. He was too scared to act or react, knowing he didn’t have any say in the matter and that his feelings wouldn’t help either. He regretted all the time he had wasted, and his lost thoughts clouded even more with every tick of the clock. He was simply caught off guard.

He had long yearned for her, and the next hour would deliberately teach him what long distance really meant. He was happy seeing her every few weeks, but tomorrow, tomorrow would start a new phase in her life, effectively ending his. The remaining time was not enough to gather his thoughts and say all the things he wanted. And extending that time was, of course, impossible. Her plane leaves in two hours, and he still doesn’t know what to do. He is willing to wait forever, but today was consumed by goodbyes and nervous distractions.