How about that second act

Every relationship deserves a rewrite, or does it?

- By Maahi Shah

Second chances are my favourite kind of do-overs—heartfelt letters of apology that show up on your screens, conversations over coffee after a conflict you thought was unresolvable, tight hugs that make up for lost time, or falling head over heels in love with someone after you thought you couldn't. I've wept, wallowed, and cringed at petty fights and hateful parting of the ways. I've hoped and prayed for unexpected plot twists and romanticised reconciliations that end with an ever-so-charming montage and a happily-ever-after song. I believe that second chances are the magic that makes us human. They're fraught with the highest of highs and lowest of lows, lessons in love and opportunities to be a better version of ourselves. A heartbreak is decidedly one of the worst feelings in the world—also perhaps inevitable in a world where relationship dynamics are constantly changing. However, opening up to love each time, healing and mending broken relationships, and giving second chances wholeheartedly can be worthwhile.

We spoke to actors and content creators about their take on second chances, love, fears, thrills, and everything in between.

The non-believer

Aisha Ahmed, 28

“I'm very rigid when it comes to relationships of any sort,” declares actor Aisha Ahmed. For her, second chances in relationships and friendships don’t come easy. She fights till the very end. But once it’s done, it’s done. “My first relationship was six-years-long, and then the other one was for three years. I gave it my all till I couldn't. When I realised that it was getting toxic, I just walked away,” she says.