500+ Days Of Longing

When you're young everything feels like the end of the world. But it's not. It's just the beginning.

This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie "The Graduate." The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parents' marriage, she'd only love two things. The first was her long dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing. Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.

People don't realize this, but loneliness in underrated. 

Tom walked to her apartment, intoxicated by the promise of the evening. He believed that this time his expectations would align with reality.

For Tom Hansen, this was the night where everything changed. That wall Summer so often hid behind - the wall of distance, of space, of casualty - that wall was slowly coming down. For here was Tom, in her world, a place few had been invited to see with their own eyes. And here was Summer, wanting him there. Him, no one else.

"Look, we don't have to put a label on it. That's fine. I get it. But, you know, I just need some consistency."

"I know."

"I need to know that you're not gonna wake up in the morning and feel differently."

"And I can't give you that. Nobody can."

Do you ever do this, you think back on all the times you've had with someone and you just replay it in your head over and over again and you look for those first signs of trouble?

Look, I know you think she was the one, but I don't. Now, I think you're just remembering the good stuff. Next time you look back, I, uh, I really think you should look again. 

It's these cards and the movies and the pop songs, they're to blame for all lies and the heartache, everything

If Tom had learned anything, it was that you can't ascribe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. Coincidence, that's all anything ever is, nothing more that a 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.

Misery, sadness, loss of faith, no reason to live...this is perfect for you.

"I just woke up one day and I knew."

"Knew what?"

"What I was never sure of with you."

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Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life. May 23rd was a Wednesday.