Too Late to Say Sorry

She and he are a couple. He drinks heavily. Every time he's drunk, he lashes out with cruel words and even violence. Sober, he kneels and begs for forgiveness. She keeps giving him chances, brewing him hangover soup, enduring quietly, hoping he'll change. But he never does. After one final, devastating blow, she finally gives up. She leaves behind a bowl of soup and a farewell letter, and disappears. Only then does he wake up. He searches frantically but can never find her. He quits drinking and brews a bowl of soup every day, waiting for her return—but she never comes. Years later, they meet again. She has built a new life. He is left to live out his days in regret. The words "I'm sorry" came far too late.