‘Someday’, the thief of everything beautiful

Not long ago, I reread The Little Prince. I was introduced to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella as a children’s book, but only those who have lived and loved deeply will sense the quiet truths that permeate its pages.

As I read it, something stirred inside me, not a loud revelation, but a gentle ache. I realised how often I whisper to myself, “Someday I will…” Someday I will iron out this misunderstanding. Someday I will say sorry. Someday I will hold them close and tell them how much they mean to me. But someday is a thief of everything beautiful. 

The Little Prince loved his rose. It wasn’t the only rose in the world. But it was his rose, the one he tended to, protected, watered, listened to, and cared for. He did not wait for a perfect moment to express his love for her. He didn’t think, “One day, I will tell her.” He lived that love every single day, even when she complained, even when she wounded him with her words. To truly love someone is to love them even in their imperfect moments. That is what made her special. That is what made her his.

Then I thought about us, human beings, stumbling through relationships that we actually treasure. Two people can share a connection that needs no words, a silent understanding that the world might even envy. And yet, in a single moment of pride, they begin to build walls. One harsh word is spoken. One ego refuses to bend. Silence becomes a weapon. Instead of “I’m sorry,” we wait. Instead of “You hurt me, but I still love you,” we pretend not to care. Two hearts that know each other’s rhythm suddenly stand apart, waiting for the other to speak first. Waiting for someday.

But life doesn’t wait. And someday sometimes never comes.

The Tragedy of What Could Have Been

What a tragedy when two beautiful souls who love each other deeply end up wounding each other, not because of hatred, but because they wouldn’t let themselves be soft. Because saying “I miss you” felt heavy. Because one hug felt like effort. How did a simple touch become so difficult? When did love, which once flowed effortlessly, become a task? One sincere apology could have saved everything. One long embrace could have healed the silence. Instead, we choose to wait, until one day, it is too late. And we are left with the cruel emptiness of what could have been.

The Little Prince watched forty-four sunsets in one day because his heart was heavy, and he needed beauty to heal him. I think of how many sunsets we miss because we are busy being angry, or proud, or distracted. We miss that one moment to hold a hand, to smile, to brush away tears, to say, “You matter to me more than my ego ever will.” In that pause lies our chance at redemption. In that pause lies peace.

The Little Prince is a gentle reminder: When we choose love over ego, presence over postponement, softness over silence, we not only save a relationship… we save ourselves too. And perhaps someone else, seeing us, might find the courage to do the same.

Sometimes I wonder: how many “sorrys” are locked in people’s hearts, waiting to be given voice to? How many “I love yous” remain buried because someone felt shy or afraid or was too late? How many relationships break not for lack of love, but for lack of expression?

The Little Prince had to leave his rose. That part stays with me. He loved her, but he had to go. That is life. People move away, souls depart, time shifts, and sometimes we don’t get the chance to say what we always intended to. The love remains, but the moment to express it is gone. And then we realize, love left unsaid hurts more than love lost.

Why do we wait? Why do we make a simple act of affection feel like a mountain to climb? One hand resting on someone’s back, one whispered apology, one admission of “I was wrong”… these could be the bridges back to each other. But we wait. And we lose. And then we grieve. What a waste of something so divine.

If only we could pause, like the Little Prince. Take a moment. Look into the eyes of the one we love and say, “I don’t want to win this argument. I want to win you back.” If only we understood that a moment of tenderness is more powerful than hours of silence. If only we let go of the urge to be right and choose to be kind instead.

The only real time we have to love… is NOW

Love was never meant to be postponed. It was never meant to be locked away for later. Love is a daily act. A daily courage. A daily surrender. And when we live like that, even if life takes someone away, we do not drown in regret. Because we know we loved fully, we expressed it, we lived it.

In the end, The Little Prince is a gentle reminder: what is essential is invisible to the eye. We may not always see love, or forgiveness, or tenderness, but we can feel them, and that is what makes life worth living.

Let us not wait. Let us not make love a someday thing. Let us touch, let us speak, let us hold, let us forgive, now. Because when we choose love over ego, presence over postponement, softness over silence, we not only save a relationship… we save ourselves too. And perhaps someone else, seeing us, might find the courage to do the same.

Because life is too precious for “someday.” And the only real time we have to love… is now.

About the book: The Little Prince is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. First published in 1943, it appears as a children’s book, but has been loved by generations of adult readers.