Love Was Better In Our Time

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I know it sounds cliché, but before you, love was better in our time.

It wasn't perfect but certainly better.

Maybe it was the fact that most people read romantic novels then - Mills and Boon, Harlequin - guys and girls alike. They weren't expensive and we were able to buy them with money our uncles gave us. We always made sure not to declare these monies to our parents or they'll ask you to give it to them for 'safekeeping' and you can be sure you'll never see that money again.

We read these novels, and we believed something real could happen to us.

So when we met someone… we didn’t hold back.

We didn’t start strategizing on what to do. We just loved.

We didn’t treat it like a struggle for survival or turn it into something transactional.

It wasn’t a competition of who could play it the coolest, or who could stay the most without calling. Ghosting never even crossed anyone's mind.

We just… entered it.

With our feelings.

And a resolve to do our best.

And back then, what did we really have?

Almost nothing.

We didn't have much. No real money, no elaborate dates. No expectations that your dress or makeup would be paid for (we didn't even wear so much those days), or that he would cover your transport to his place.

But we took pleasure in the little we scraped up.

I remember going on a beach date once, and the guy hired a combi bus. I was like, what? Do you know what we could have done with all that money? It didn't stop both of us though from sitting at the back and posing like combi bus owners. It was all so innocently sweet.

You would bring him food from home, or buy foodstuff on your way there —not because he asked, or because it was expected. You just did it because you wanted to.

Care was simple. You gave. They gave.

Sometimes, you both just shared the little you had without calculating it, without attaching a repayment tag to it.

And he would take care of you in his own way.

Some little money to make your hair, to buy something new, or just - okay, this is all I have. Let's share.”

Small, steady gestures that spoke volumes.

That meant he appreciated you being there.

That he valued having you to love and care for him.

Anyone looking from the outside could tell you both didn’t have much.

But the instinct was there, to show up for each other anyway.

That’s the difference.

Nobody was saying, “If you don’t give me this or buy me this, I’m not going out with you.”

Nothing was a demand. It never crossed our minds to hold back just so we could stay in control. We all knew we were young and didn't have much.

And nobody was comfortably sitting in love, giving nothing either.

Care was natural and mutual.

You gave. They gave.

Now… nobody really cares.

Everyone is asking for something upfront.

It’s sad how people are comfortable doing nothing and calling it “protecting their peace.”

And in the middle of all that, something very tender, something very simple, innocent even disappeared.

That quiet instinct to care. Totally eroded.

Before you all, we didn’t need to be taught how to love, or reminded how to show it.

We just did.

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