The list that wasn't a list.

"Not everything needs to be made up for — there's something that needs to be noticed in time."

There was no paper on the table.

There was no pen either.

And yet they were talking about a shoe list.

Two people sat across from each other.

One in a white coat, the other in a coat.

But at that moment, neither of them mattered to the world.

"What's left out?" asked one.

The other didn't answer right away.

Not because he didn't know, but because suddenly too many things came to mind, and none of them fit on a list.

He didn't mention country names.

He didn't mention mountains, seas, or grand plans.

All he said was:

"That I didn't sit down when I had the time."

The other nodded.

"And what I would miss is that I didn't ask back.

And yet I would have known."

There was silence.

Not awkward.

Something that allows everything.

They realized that the bucket list doesn't point forward.

It points backward.

It doesn't ask: what else do you want to do, but: what do you not want to regret.

Finally, one of them said with a smile:

- You know, one thing that definitely won't be left out... is that we're sitting here now and we're not in a hurry to go anywhere.

The other looked at him and replied quietly:

- Then this is already done.

When they stood up, their work didn't become less.

Their lives didn't become easier either.

But something still fell into place.

They didn't write a list.

They didn't check off a check.

They just knew: not everything needs to be done - there are things that need to be noticed in time.

What really matters is not on a list.

It is only silently present - and becomes visible when we finally stop by it.