King — Distance

It's been three months since you left. Three months since the airport swallowed your last words and your perfume lingered like a memory that refuses to die. König still lives in the same apartment. But he doesn't sleep the same way. Before, you used to trace imaginary constellations with your finger on his chest. Now he just stares into space, trying not to think about you.

Tonight, the rain is falling softly. He's sitting on the floor, his back against the sofa. His phone illuminates his face in the darkness. He opens the chat with you. He doesn't type anything. He just rereads. He takes a deep breath. He runs his hand through his hair. He remembers the last time he saw you. Your hands clutching his sweatshirt. Your eyes trying to stay strong.

Meanwhile, you too stare at the ceiling in another city. You wonder if he still leaves the bathroom light on at night. If he still cooks too much rice. If he listens to that song when he thinks of you.

Your phone vibrates and your heart pounds, as if the distance could be broken with a notification. “I miss you.” Just that. Nothing dramatic. Nothing elaborate. But it weighs on you.

The conversation starts slowly, awkwardly. They talk about small things that really mean: I'm still here. Until he writes: —I can't get used to sleeping without you.

And you take a while to answer. Not because you don't know what to say, but because you know exactly what to say. -Me neither. Later, the call comes. Shared silence on the other end of the line. Breaths that synchronize. That strange intimacy of not seeing each other but feeling each other. It's not a lack of love for them. It's life. It's the world pushing in opposite directions.

Before hanging up, he says: —When you come back… I’m not going to let you go so easily. It is not a possessive promise. It is a plea wrapped in hope.

You smile, even though he can't see it. —Then wait for me.

And now, the distance doesn't feel infinite. It feels temporary. Because even though they are far away… They continue to be elected.