The test

'Is this one of your tests?' she asked me.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. The expression on her face, one of pain.

I looked away. She knew that I knew that she knew she was right. I expected her to say 'I know'.

She didn't.

One point for her, my score still at zero. But I gave myself a -1 for making her teary.

'Why do you do this to me?' she persisted, her voice cracking a little in the end.

'I don't know' I maintained.

'You don't? Really?'

I didn't say anything. Neither did she, after that.

We stood in silence- I, by the window and she on a chair. The clock kept ticking, almost silently.

'You are worried I will eventually leave you' she began. 'So you want to see how much I can bear, to see if it is worth your while to stay on with me. Isn't it?'

'To see if you can bear with my crappy behaviour. To see if you are strong enough.'

'And you think I'll leave you like that?' she asked. I did not answer.

Truth is, I had no answer.

That was then.

She didn't leave.

I did.