It was a long community table and the seat next to me was empty. It had been a year since i had been to one of these. A year of hopes and promises. A year of scarred hearts and broken dreams. And then i saw her. She walked to the group, regal and stately, and sat down on the seat next to me. As she introduced herself, i thought to myself: her voice sounds foreign, but then everything about her was other worldly. Angelic almost. I saw him approach and observed him as he bent down to kiss her. I froze. And with me, time too stood still. Nothing existed, except him and her. There she was, right next to him, right where I should have been. Right where I used to be. I clutched at my crumbling heart, and pinched myself to numb the pain, collected my shattered remains and rose to leave. ' Always carry a soft smile, like a Buddha ', my teacher once said to me. I willed myself to invoke my inner Buddha, as i said my goodbyes. And then i gave my withering hopes one last