Between Hello and Goodbye

by Emma Scott

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. —Rumi

“It sounds stupid or cheesy, but I feel connected to something bigger when I sit with the ocean. Like I’m a part of something old and deep.” Asher grasped a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. “I felt untethered to anything real or permanent when I was a kid. Maybe this is me making up for it. But I’m grateful, and I think it’s the gratitude that makes me feel connected. I’m grateful to the ocean just for being here.”

“That’s the beauty of the world’s energies,” the woman said. “They work whether you believe in them or not.”

“But I can’t help myself around you. I know, rationally, we’re different people. There’s a literal ocean between us, and yet…” He reached across the table to take my hand. “I don’t see how this can go anywhere, but the last fucking thing I want to think about is saying goodbye.”

“Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, to know the unknowable.”