The Numbered Days

Here is a line from the movie “500 Days of Summer”.

Summer: No, I mean it. You were right. It just wasn’t me you were right about.

I never did get why a friend did not like it. I on the other hand, liked it very much. I still do. I think, for me, it showed the kind of reality I wanted in a movie on how two people meet and then separate ways. That sometimes, we just have to take things into perspective. We have to learn from it and eventually learn to move on from the ache and suffering.

Sometimes, in life, we meet someone we think is the perfect person for us but then as time progresses and life gets in the way (like it always does), we realize that maybe better things lie ahead. This is the beauty of it all. Not knowing which would last longer, makes you want to cherish every moment with every person you love and hold so dearly. Not knowing whether they would still love you tomorrow, you fight, go through life, and beat odds just to prove your feelings are real. You may even be unaware that you are already doing things you thought you never could do. You find yourself asking the very same questions your friends asked you before — only this time, you don’t have the answers.
Or maybe you do have the answers but you refuse to accept them.

Another reason I liked the movie was that I could very much relate to it (except the sex part). It showed how two people, from being total strangers, became friends, became more than friends, and then just as easily, turned back to being strangers once again. Life is what you make of it, really. You could lie and wait for love to come. Hope for it. But you should not put your life on hold looking for it. And that being more than friends does not necessarily mean that you two are in an intimate relationship. I made it a point in my life (after a certain incident) to never label my relationships with people. I would never get around to calling someone my close friend, or best friend, or acquaintance, or frenemy. I get the point of labeling things and knowing where you stand but I also know for a fact that no matter what label you put, and that no matter how much trust you put into people, they will always leave you. They will always, in many little ways you could possibly never imagine, break you. Because people are fragile creatures, are we are all broken. This brokenness is what makes us human. The very thought of being incomplete drives to find someone who will complete us. The other broken piece that could make us whole again. That, for me is true love. And I think that that is why I liked the movie very much. Because in the end, even after Summer repeatedly broke Tom’s heart, he still hoped. He still hoped that one day, he’d find his missing piece. The hole inside his chest would one day be filled and he will be happy. Nothing else would matter. He will occasionally find the wrong people, and may find out too late, that the one he was searching for was nearby but that is not a problem. After all, destiny is the bridge we build to the ones we love, right?

The movie ends:

Most days of the year are remarkable. They begin and they end with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life.

If Tom had learned anything, it was that you can’t describe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. Coincidence, that is all anything ever is. Nothing more than coincidence. Tom had finally learned. There are no miracles. There’s no such thing as fate. Nothing is meant to be. He knew. He was sure of it now. Tom was …. He was pretty sure.

 

And just like Tom, I too found my Summer. And as I embark on my journey of moving on, I’d always remember this movie. I will forever remember these lines and I will always hope. Because that is the beauty of life and love. It is temporary. And it is not sought.

It comes.

And it goes.

FILM: 500 Days of Summer