The Perfect Ending Of And

• Jade Borthwick, Grade 11, Maranatha Christian School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Finalist in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

I like the word ‘and’.
I like how it changes everything.
You and I. The sky and the ground. The living and the dead.
I like that it puts two words together instead of letting them be alone.
I like that it relates two things that have no relation to begin with.
Instead of ‘him’ or ‘her’, they can be ‘him and her’. I think it’s cute.
I also think that his name and mine go well together. I like how they match.
We matched together like when you join two words with ‘and’ and that made me happy.
Sunshine and rainbows. Sugar and spice. Milk and cookies. Fire and ice.
Boy and girl.
I didn’t like a similar word to it though.
End.
End destroys everything. The end of her. The end of him. The end of them.
But I’d like to imagine how ‘and’ and ‘end’ can both coexist in harmony.
Friends and lovers.
A moment when both ‘and’ and ‘end’ can tolerate each other, even though ‘end’ is meant to be the end of ‘and’.
But if ‘end’ isn't the end of ‘and’, what is the end of ‘and’?
“Sorry” he told me.
Sorry. What a pretty word.
A word that holds so many secrets and regrets, so much jealousy and anger, indescribable pain and heartbreak.
The word came up many times in our last conversation.
And in a moment it hit me - ‘Sorry’ was the end of ‘and’.
Sorry was the end of ‘and’ and a lot more. I realised that even though the pain and uncertainty came to cease, so did ‘boy and girl’.
‘Friends and lovers’ was just a faraway dream.
But it’s fine.
I still like the word ‘and’ though.
Maybe a little less than before.
And perhaps I could give ‘end’ another chance.
Amend and grow.
It’s so sad to think that it’s the end of ‘and’, but now I know that ‘and’ and ‘end’ can stand on the same pedestal.
They can in fact, coexist.
And maybe, just maybe, ‘end’ can stay right next to ‘and’ because they complete each other.
‘End’ isn't a bad thing.
But that’s just what I’d like to believe.
The truth is, ‘and’ won’t always be there for ‘end’, as ‘end’ is always there for ‘and’.
All things come to an ‘end’.
But not all things have an ‘and’.
For this reason, perhaps ‘then’ may be my new favourite word.
It puts an end to second guessing.
It makes up for the absence of closure that ‘and’ created.
Love and betrayal.
Then?
Love and betrayal - Then hate. Then regrets. Then anger. Then heartbreak.
Because some of the things we think come after ‘and’, really come after ‘then’.
They are consequences.
Love then betrayal.
So perhaps ‘and’ will stay where it belongs for a while - confined away, until it lures yet another pair of ill-fated hearts to match.
But until then, away with duality.
Because no one gets their perfect ending. Not even ‘and’.