We Were Together Like Railway Tracks

We were together like railway tracks — always beside each other, moving in the same direction, bound by a shared path, yet never truly meeting. It’s a metaphor that encapsulates the quiet ache of emotional distance in a relationship that, from the outside, seemed to be aligned.

There was routine, a sense of partnership, shared responsibilities, and even laughter at times. But beneath it all was a silent truth: we were two people running parallel, not intertwined. We looked like a team, functioned like one, and moved forward through life’s stations side by side — and yet, something was always missing. Connection.

Like railway tracks, we supported the same train — the home, the children, the daily grind. But the closeness was an illusion. We didn’t intersect emotionally. We didn’t meet in vulnerability, in true understanding, or in raw, unfiltered presence. We lived lives filled with ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ — always moving, never stopping to really see each other.

I used to believe proximity meant connection. Being physically close, sleeping in the same bed, and sharing meals and travelling meant we were together. But I’ve come to understand that emotional intimacy isn’t guaranteed by geography. It’s built in those moments of stillness, eye contact, heart-to-heart honesty — all of which became rare.

Sometimes, I would reach out, hoping for that spark, the crossing point, the intersection where we could meet — heart, mind, and soul. But each attempt felt like a passing signal, acknowledged briefly and then forgotten. The more we moved forward, the more I realized we were just going through the motions.

And that’s the paradox of being like railway tracks. You’re essential to the journey. You carry the same weight. You share the same goal. But you are still apart.

Now, I choose to pause at my own station. To reflect on what it means to truly meet someone — and to not mistake being beside someone for being with them. Maybe the tracks we were on weren’t broken — maybe they just weren’t meant to merge.

Some journeys aren’t about meeting in the end. They’re about realizing when it’s time to stop running parallel and start finding your own path — one that leads not just beside someone but toward a true connection.