They Never Stopped Choosing Each Other.

If you can’t be best friends, can you really build a lifetime together?

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Dan and Martha sat beside a quiet lake, holding hands and simply enjoying the weather, the peaceful surroundings, and each other’s company.

They had been married for almost forty years.

For forty years, they had held each other’s hands through everything — through love and laughter, through arguments and misunderstandings, through days when they adored each other and days when they merely tolerated one another. Yet at the end of every day, no matter what had happened, they always found their way back to each other.

Again and again, they chose each other.

Even now, sitting by the lake, they giggled like teenagers, teasing one another and sharing random thoughts that came to mind. They were husband and wife, but more importantly, they were best friends.

There was never a thought too small to share.

After a comfortable silence, Martha turned toward Dan.

“What if we had never become each other’s best friend?” she asked softly.

Dan immediately shook his head.

“I don’t like thinking about that.”

“Why?” Martha asked, smiling.

“Because I can’t imagine anyone else being my best friend except you.”

Martha’s smile grew wider.

Dan continued, his voice gentle.

“I always wanted my best friend to be my life partner. And in this world, I cannot imagine my life without you.”

Tears slowly filled Martha’s eyes.

Not tears of sadness.

Tears of gratitude.

Tears of happiness.

After all these years, she still felt lucky that somehow, out of billions of people, they had found each other.

Dan noticed her tears and immediately grinned.

“Oh, I know why you’re crying.”

Martha laughed.

“Really? Why?”

“Because I’m so handsome that you’re overwhelmed.”

Martha rolled her eyes.

“And because you can’t imagine life without me.”

This time she nodded, smiling through her tears.

“Maybe.”

They both laughed.

A few minutes later, they noticed a girl, perhaps twenty two years old, sitting alone a short distance away.

She was crying.

Martha’s heart immediately went out to her.

“Stay here,” she told Dan.

She walked over and sat beside the girl.

“Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

The girl remained silent.

Martha waited patiently.

“Is there anything wrong? Maybe I can help.”

Still no answer.

Martha smiled warmly.

“My husband is a genius when it comes to solving problems. He’s spent so many years helping everyone that it turned all his hair grey.”

The girl let out a small laugh despite herself.

“There it is,” Martha said. “A smile.”

The girl looked toward Dan.

“You two look really good together.”

Martha glanced back at him and smiled.

“Thank you. We’ve been together for almost forty years.”

The girl’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Really.”

The girl looked down at the ground.

“In our generation, people don’t value relationships anymore. Everyone breaks up so quickly.”

Martha raised an eyebrow playfully.

“So… did you have a breakup too?”

The girl looked up, surprised.

Martha couldn’t help but laugh.

The kindness and warmth of both Martha and Dan slowly encouraged the girl to open her heart.

“Yeah,” she admitted quietly. “We were together for six months. He broke up with me.”

Martha nodded sympathetically.

Then she smiled.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. One day you’ll find your Dan.”

The girl laughed softly.

Dan walked over and joined them.

“Would you like some advice from an old man?” he asked.

The girl nodded.

“Sure.”

Dan sat comfortably beside Martha.

“The first thing I’d tell you is this: find someone who can be your best friend.”

The girl listened carefully.

“Find someone with whom you can share the smallest details of your life. The awkward moments. The silly stories. The random thoughts that don’t seem important to anyone else.”

Martha squeezed his hand as he spoke.

“You should be able to tell them things without constantly wondering if they’ll judge you. And they should feel the same way with you.”

The girl nodded.

Dan continued.

“In this generation, many people are chasing relationships before they build friendship. They’re eager to date but don’t take the time to truly know each other.”

He looked at Martha.

“For us, friendship came first.”

Martha smiled.

“It still comes first.”

Dan nodded.

“When two people become best friends, they stop keeping score. Their pride and ego become less important than the relationship itself.”

He paused for a moment.

“The goal isn’t to fight with each other.”

Martha finished his sentence.

“It’s to fight for each other.”

The girl sat quietly, absorbing every word.

Dan continued.

“Find someone you can talk to for hours. Someone who listens to you. And in return you also want to do the same.”

“Find someone whose happiness matters to you.”

“Find someone whose pain matters to you.”

“Find someone who feels like home.”

The girl felt her chest become lighter.

For the first time since her breakup, she wasn’t thinking about what she had lost.

She was thinking about what she deserved.

“And one more thing,” Dan said.

“If you’re not ready to give your whole heart, that’s okay. Build yourself first. Learn who you are. Grow. Become the person you’re meant to be, do not live in , in-between.”

He smiled.

“Love isn’t a race.”

The girl’s eyes began to fill with tears.

Not because she was hurting.

Because she finally felt understood.

Dan wrapped an arm around Martha’s shoulder.

“I found my best friend in Martha.”

Martha rested her head against him.

“And I found mine in Dan.”

They looked at the girl.

“And someday,” Martha said gently, “you’ll find yours too.”

The girl smiled. A real smile this time.

The three of them sat beside the lake for hours.

They talked. They laughed.

They shared stories about life, mistakes, heartbreak, and love.

As the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon, the girl left carrying something she hadn’t brought with her.

Hope.

And as Dan and Martha watched her walk away, they quietly held hands once again, grateful that after all these years, they were still each other’s favorite person.

NOTE- This is a piece of fiction..

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