The Fallen Lashes

“Gapapa, nanti juga tumbuh lagi kok,” she said empathetically as I noticed some of my eyelash extensions falling down my cheeks along with the natural ones, in pain.

“Tapi harusnya gak sebanyak ini,” I murmured. I did my best to take care of them and yet, I lost them in no time.

We continued discussing eyelash growth for a while. We had to distract ourselves from the heated conversation about people who have come and gone in our lives.

Everyone has their own clock in life. It is never for too long or too short. We happen to experience a certain moment at the right time, with the right person, to learn the right lesson. It is never too soon or too late.

I had a (mental) list of people that I used to, or might still, hold a special place in my heart.

Some bring joy to feel, some leave scars to heal. Some are easy to forget, some are the best you ever met.

Those who belong to the last group never failed to leave a lasting, impossible-to-forget footprints. You wished to relive those good old days. You wished to express more of gratitude and less of anger-based attitude towards them. You refused to live in the present, the moment-without-them present, let alone looking into the future.

You were scared you would never have a chance to meet another best.

I knew exactly how it felt. I too wished the same thing, until a few days ago I came across a verse that goes, what was meant for you will never pass you.

Every day we lose and gain something; God knows how the equation works.

While there is always a gain in each loss, a blessing in disguise, a lesson learned; more often than not we first must deal with the painful, unexpected loss. The kind of loss that bring us down to our knees, take more painkillers than needed (aspirin, booze, you name it), even question the existence of God and fairness in life.

With broken pieces of heart and faith, we were left with nothing but to believe that the next best is yet to come.

That our lost strength, our lost hope, our lost motivation to get through the day,

…nanti juga tumbuh lagi.