It was only under the silver watch of the moon in the night sky that I stirred back to awareness, peering into the inky blackness and back at the boy beside me. We were still nestled under the downy blankets, his head tucked softly against my torso. And though my arm had turned to stone beneath his body, I was the most content and peaceful.
Underneath the faint starlight, I could just make out the lines of his face. His rose-petal lips were slightly parted, and his lashes fluttered ever so lightly with every cute snore. I stayed unmoving, afraid to disrupt, smiling at the way his chest rose and fell in tranquil breath. I felt a heavy tug within my chest. Not of sadness, but of deep affection—a serene warmth that oozed within my veins and swelled every hollow nook and crevice within my heart until it hummed.
But despite such comfort, I was seized by an anxious thought, oblivious to the time that had slipped by. Careful to keep his peace and the gentle smile on his face undisturbed, I disentangled my arm from the warm embrace and bid a silent farewell to his slumbered thoughts with a soft kiss on the forehead. He didn't even move, as though refusing to part with his dreamy sleep.
Wooden floorboards creaked beneath every footfall and echoed through the nocturnal quietness of the house as I moved as though in a dreamlike haze toward Alex's room at the other end of the hallway. An urge welled up to share what had happened that evening, to share half of my peace, to tell her about the unfamiliar sense of consolation and thankfulness I felt. But not wishing to disrupt her sleep at such an ungodly hour, I tried to tip-toe my way across as quietly as possible.
The door easily yielded to my tug, stirring the air with a lively draught that skipped out of the room and greeted me, carrying with it a crisp chill. But it was the figure on the windowsill that held my attention, curled inward with her head resting on folded knees. The window behind her was flung open, inviting the outside world to come in and flirt with the edges of her hair.
"That doesn't look like a comfortable position to sleep in."
My words felt swallowed by the vast silence, her stillness causing worry to take root in my heart. And as I tentatively walked up, my ears caught a subdued sniffle that pierced the moonlit night. It made my heart clench.
"Alex?"
She raised her head to lock eyes with mine, but her trembling lips voiced no words. Instead, the shimmering moonlight danced across her tear-stained cheeks, the droplets catching the light. I could see her sadness, and I could suddenly feel my own. It was written in the stony silence and the lingering depth of her stare.
My hands brought her close without a second thought. "It's okay," I murmured into the crook of her neck. "It's alright, baby. Tell me what's wrong."
"A nightmare."
My fingers trailed the curve of her spine, tracing a tender path that hopefully whispered of comfort. "The same one?"
"I hadn't had it in months," she said, her breath hitching. "And when I woke up alone, I thought—"
A heartrending cry broke through, a sound so raw it muted everything else and tore at my soul. Tightening my hold around her, I led us to the bed, where her salty tears soaked through the fabric of my shirt. She held on tight, as though I was the only mooring keeping her from being swept away by her emotions. As though I held the power to tether her to the earth.
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm here now," I muttered. "I fell asleep with Benji."
"I know. I saw."
My fingers sifted through her hair, trying to offer at least a distracting touch. "If you want to talk about it, or anything else, then I'll listen. Just breathe and let it out, okay? I'm here."
She took a shuddering breath, her voice a mere whisper. "I can't get that noise out of my head. It's always that stupid sound."
"The beeping?"
"It brings up so many memories and that empty feeling."
"Try not to think about it. It's okay," I urged softly, drawing circles against her scalp. "I know it must be hard, but it's in the past."
"But I still remember all of it, and it's like reliving that moment over and over again," she said, her words getting choked with tears. "My own son wouldn't even know me, Kay. It still haunts me, that guilt, because how could I have even thought of leaving him behind? I hate being like this still. I hate it so much."
Hearing her say that stirred tears. The mere notion that she had once believed herself unworthy of life's precious breath, coupled with the guilt for feeling that way, cut me right down to the core. I knew those insidious whispers of self-doubt and hopelessness that crept stealthily into the corners of the mind, but never to such an extent. Even after the months spent side by side, I still could not fathom what she had gone through.
I wanted to do more, to take away her pain and absorb it as my own, but the only thing I could offer her was my presence and comforting words. And though every part of me ached to crumble alongside her, I took a steadying breath before speaking again, battling the sorrow eager to color my tone. I needed to be okay for her sake.
"Don't do this to yourself," I said softly, my throat tight. "Look at yourself now. Look at what you have accomplished despite everything. You're here, and that's all that matters. And let me tell you, Benji's gonna have wrinkles before even hitting puberty just because of that smile on his face twenty-four-seven. He even smiles while sleeping. Go check for yourself."
"I know," she said in a trembling breath. "It's cute."
"And that's because you've raised him to be so incredibly happy, Alex. You've given him the best life he could have. I can't say it enough how wonderful you are. You've got no reason to think otherwise, so don't let those intrusive thoughts win."
"There's plenty of reasons. I think I've ruined everything."
"You haven't. Not our relationship, not your life, not Benji's life, nothing."
Her sobs only picked up as she clung to me for dear life, like a child clutching their favorite toy as they fell into a land of nightmares. "Please don't break up with me," she choked out, the words tumbling out in a rush.
My heart skipped a beat. "Alex... what? Why would you say that?"
"You're still mad at me," she cried into me, words muffled against my chest. "And I'm just so scared."
Out of the corners of my eyes, a single droplet of guilt trickled down from my heavy heart, its realization piercing with a poignant ache. It wasn't just the remnants of a bad dream that plagued her. It was a manifestation of the deep-seated sorrow that had taken root within her, a pain that I myself had unwittingly sown. I had never meant to hurt her so much. Or at all.
"Listen to me." I scooted down until we were eye to eye. "That thought has never entered my mind, not even once. I love you and Benji so much, so don't ever think that. I've just been frustrated, but you haven't ruined anything."
She tried to steady her breath, every inhale interrupted by a slight hiccup. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted you to be safe, and I didn't want to lose you. I can't even sleep without you anymore."
"Don't cry. Please don't cry," I begged in between my own tears as I wiped hers away. "You're not going to lose me. I know you meant well, and I overreacted. I just needed some time and space to realize that."
"But I did something I shouldn't have done. The fact that we weren't together doesn't mean... I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I promise you. I just wasn't ready for him to come back so suddenly. I've been protective of that part of my life for years, so I freaked out and got frustrated. But it's okay," I said quickly. "You did more right than you know, Alex. I went to see him."
"Who?"
"Chris," I breathed, emotion tearing up my words. "And I still have no idea what you did."
"I did a stupid thing. I know it was wrong of me. I'm sorry."
"Alex, he's good. He's really good," I reassured. "I've never loved you more than I do right now. I still have no idea how, but you gave a person their life back."
She took a trembling breath, searching for something in my eyes. "Really?"
"Really." I brought her hand to my lips, grazing the ring that had never parted from her finger since I had given it to her. "I know I've been acting strange lately. I'm sorry I made you feel this way, that you even had to think I would break up with you. Never think that again. Promise me never to think that again, not even for a second."
Alex paused, nodding. "And I promise to share everything with you from now on."
"We already do." I smiled. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'm sure I would've done the same thing. We've already started building a life together, and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of it with you. I'd want us three—or four, or five—to be happy and safe. I'd do anything for that."
A small smile flickered, cutting through her tearful haze. "Four or five?"
Returning her smile, I felt such profound relief. "Remember Valentine's? When we lay on the floor and talked about our dreams, and I told you I didn't really have any?"
"Yeah?"
"I have plenty now," I said. "I can already imagine how, in like ten years, you'll be a professor, and I'll teach adorable little kids. We'll be married, Benjamin will have his little sister or two, and we'll live in this small little house, just big enough for your growing plant obsession and our family. The kids will have a big backyard, maybe even their own treehouse. That's what I want. Oh, and Benj might be asking for a piano very soon."
Her eyes momentarily lost focus, wandering to some distant place, before she sought refuge in my embrace. No words accompanied her, and there was nothing I could do but wait. I held her tight, my own eyes closed, as if hoping that by shutting out the world, I could keep everything else at bay.
Moments passed, her hold loosened, and her cries melted away into silence. Were it not for the rapid beating of her heart and the occasional sniffle that pierced through, I might have believed she had slipped back into slumber's sweet embrace.
"Did I say something?" I broke through the stillness, seeking her eyes once more. "I'm sorry if I did. I didn't mean to freak you out."
"No, it was sweet," she exhaled softly. "But something about it still... I don't even know... scares me."
"You mean the marriage?"
Alex nodded hesitantly and with worry etched on her pretty face. "I don't exactly have a good experience with that."
I feigned a dramatic sigh. "Already thinking about divorcing me?"
The corners of her mouth twitched back into a smile. "Of course not," she said, snuggling against my chest again. "But that one paper ruined years of my life. And even though my parents are okay now, growing up, I had to listen to their screaming every night only to find my dad on the couch in the morning. I never want us to become like that. I never want to feel that way with you."
"We're not your parents, Alex, and I'm not him," I said. We were not bound by the same fate. "But I would never make you do anything you don't want or aren't ready for. I was just daydreaming out loud. I still have college in front of me and all that. We haven't been together long either."
"Sounds like you've thought about this a lot."
"I can't help where my mind wanders sometimes. But all I know is that I want to be with you, and no paper will make or break anything. So don't overthink what I said too much, okay?"
"It's not like I don't think about that," she mumbled, her voice fading to a hush. "I do, every day."
"Oh, yeah?"
"About lots of things. But I've been trying to focus more on the small freedoms. To be able to go out to dinner together, to hold your hand, and for no one to think twice about it. To kiss you whenever I want, wherever I want."
"We will get there," I vowed. "Even if we have to hide for a few more years, so be it. All that matters is that I'll have you with me."
"We're not going anywhere."
"You better not." I heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I don't think I could survive without the sex."
My words lingered for a moment until she let out a belated laugh. It might have been the loveliest sound in the world. "Of course," she whispered, "leave it to you to ruin the moment."
"We were getting a little too sappy."
"Couldn't care less," she muttered in a peaceful breath and snuggled closer, already halfway into dreamland. "So, you've decided on college?"
"I think I have. I'm not sure."
"Why?"
"I don't know if I want to spend four more years studying. Then I won't be a high school graduate but a college dropout."
"There's nothing wrong with changing your mind if you don't like something."
"Yeah, and waste thousands on tuition? With nothing to show for it?"
"Not everything in life is about money." She sighed. "I'm not gonna say it outright because I know you'll say no, but you know I've got savings."
"And you know I've got my own. The problem isn't the money. It's wasting it."
"So what if you're gonna waste it? Then you'll find something else to do. But what if it turns out that it's your dream job?"
"But what if kids end up hating me? The only experience I have is with Benji and Owen's kids. And dolls that I had an unhealthy attachment to."
"Okay, I understood where you were coming from before, but now you're just talking nonsense," she said, her voice starting to slur. "You're like the kid whisperer."
I sighed. "I don't know..."
"I'm right like ninety-eight percent of the time, so the odds are in your favor," she said with the sweetness of honey in her voice. "You're wonderful at teaching. I already told you that like half a year... and you've been helping Kayla... I mean Benji, with... um, with homework..."
Her words tapered off and melted into a tender murmur. That was one of the things I still found peculiar, how she could drop off to sleep like someone had switched her off. That's how I knew she was comfortable. That she felt safe. And I, being the insomniac that I was, would always lay there and listen to the pattern of her breathing until I drifted off. That was okay though, because that gave me time to memorize every expression, every breath, every little movement.
The rhythm of her breaths, slow and steady, was like a gentle lullaby to my senses, each exhale seeping through the fibers of cotton and brushing against my flesh in such soothing heat. I let my eyelids fall and breathed in the scent of her hair, my lungs full of her. Suddenly, the world seemed so much smaller, like I existed only in this narrow space with her at my side. It was the purest form of contentment. After days of unfamiliar distance, holding her so close felt like returning home.
She was the safe haven I could always dive into without fear of drowning. Alex breathed care, devotion, and love into every moment, soothing any bitterness or frustration that dared to take root. I could finally experience life when it was lived with someone who wanted to make sure I was happy above all else. And I wasn't going to take that for granted.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my lips brushing against her head. "Sweet dreams this time, alright?"
Fighting for some kind of purchase on consciousness, she stirred and looked up at me. And as if she already knew the answer to her next question, a shy smile formed on her lips. "Do you still love me?"
I laughed a little, not believing she even had to ask. She would never not be loved by me, for she was irrevocably knotted into my soul. "With everything I have."
Her shadowed eyes scanned my face, as if searching for signs that I would always be there. I tried to show her in my tight embrace that I'd remain. I wanted to blanket her in all the love my heart could muster, to lose myself in her embrace and stow away there forever, entangled in her sorrows and joys. I wanted to tell her that I wanted to love her for longer than my life, that she was bound to me forever, that I never wanted to feel another life but one with her. That I'd never let her go, nor ever break her heart.
But instead, I simply kissed her forehead and whispered, once more, into her hair, "I really, really love you."
Lazily smiling, Alex snuggled closer. With one foot in the hazy realm of dreams, the other clinging to the waking world. "Keep talking," she breathed out.
With the gentle cadence of her breathing as my rhythm, I talked. About everything and nothing, about good times, happy moments, and memories that forever held a place in my heart. Until I felt her let go and her body slip further into slow surrender, into the embrace of sleep that took no more than a minute.
Every so often, I would stir and adjust our position, ensuring she was always enveloped in warmth and comfort. I kept tracing circles on her back. Soft little circles that brought my emotions into the tangible world and hopefully imprinted them upon her heart. And when the darkness of night consumed our little world, I kissed her forehead once more and held her body close to my heart until I couldn't stay awake any longer.
I dreamt that night, something warm and wonderful. Something indefinable, something that felt so safe, anchored in the familiar comfort she always brought into my world. And as dawn breached the horizon the following day, flecks of it danced upon her beautiful face. The creases of her worry-touched brow had eased, and the tenseness in her shoulders had melted away. Her eyes held that same sparkle we had picked up a lifetime ago.
Her warmth had returned. It was that combination of relief, acceptance, and joy that had sometimes tasted bittersweet on the tongue yet felt ever so liberating in the heart. And what we missed most that day was the comfort of our home, of our bed. But before we could retreat into our private world, I knew that there was one more place I needed to go.
Amidst the somber statues of stones and soft whispers of the sibilant wind, the air felt thick in the cemetery. As if we had all had tea together the previous evening, I regaled my parents with tales of Chris, Alex, Benji, and all that had passed since we last spoke. There wasn't a dry eye in the circle. No matter how small or insignificant, I covered every milestone. They had a lot of catching up to do.
Buoyed by the certainty that they would have taken pride in the person I had become, my heart fluttered feather-light. Now, they lay cradled in the arms of the silent stones, but their love, just as immutable as the stones themselves, continued to guide me through life's twists and turns. They were with me always and would forever echo within my soul, pulsating in every beat of my heart and whispering in every breath I took. It was time to move on, for I knew tomorrow held new beginnings. So, with a lingering smile, I mentally hugged the tombstone goodbye and tucked a little flower among its folds as a parting gift.
When we finally returned to Darby, the sun had melted behind the crests of the rolling hills, and the golden hour of dusk had descended upon the land. It left behind a sky of hues that shifted between turquoise and lavender, beckoning us for our evening stroll. Hand in hand, we carved a path through the woodland—our own cherished place, insulated from the watchful gaze of the outside world, where our affection was unburdened by any prying eyes. Benji scampered ahead, as if guiding us through his private realm.
Our meandering footfalls traced familiar steps, ones I had trodden countless times in solitude or in the occasional company of Alex. But this time, we three roamed together. Until we reached what felt like my top of the world, where the sun painted the town with a golden glow that was nothing short of breathtaking.
Atop the weathered boulder, we were cradled in stillness, caressed by a tender breeze that touched our faces and smelled of pine and earth, and surrounded by the vibrant hum of nature. The whispering leaves of towering trees, the birdsong, and the rustling stirrings of creatures beyond the forest's edge all merged into a beautiful tune.
Benji's honey-gold hair fluttered with the faint wind, brushing against my face as he nestled comfortably between my legs. Alex, with her head resting against my shoulder and her fingers lightly sketching patterns on the fabric on my back, sat next to us. But her gaze remained anchored to the distant horizon.
"I've always loved this town," she eventually said, pausing for a moment of contemplation. "Everything that's ever been good in my life has happened here. This is where this little guy grew up, where I got back on my feet, where I met you again. It was my fresh start, in a way."
Memories of bygone days flooded my mind, too, as that place played back its reel of my emotional highs and lows. There, I had shed tears of heartache and laughed so hard until it physically ached. The echoes of my smiles still lingered in the air. It was there, on my first day in Darby, that I sought peace. And it was there, the morning after our first night together, that we both found refuge in each other's arms. That same special feeling was still very much alive. Each and every taken breath with them there seemed so much purer and fuller.
"It was my fresh start, too," I uttered with a soft sigh that echoed the serenity I felt, while a reminiscent smile graced my lips. "I wanted to live with my best friend and escape everything. But not a single thing turned out the way I had planned," I added. And then I realized that I was living with my best friends, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Everything was exactly like I had dreamed. "But everything ended up falling into place, like you kept saying it would. I guess you are right most of the time."
"Obviously."
"Don't get a big head, alright?" I nudged her gently. "But really, none of this would've been my reality if it weren't for you."
"You're one to talk," she teased, returning the playful nudge. "I don't know what it is about you. I've been trying to figure it out for so long."
"What do you mean?"
"You came back into our lives one day, and everything fell into place just like that," she explained. "I met my mom and dad again because of you, I started doing the things I love, and I feel happier than I ever have. It's like we clicked, and we didn't even have to try much. It's almost like I've loved you my whole life, ever since we were kids. If that even makes sense."
Sunlight dappled her beautiful features, illuminating the silent tears that traced her cheeks. In her eyes, I beheld a reflection of myself, more beautiful than I had ever dared to imagine. A piece of my soul in hers.
"Maybe we have," I mused, smiling. "It's bizarre to think about it that way, but it feels like we picked up right from where we left off. Like little kids with nothing to worry about."
"Now we're adults. With lots of things to worry about."
"Yeah, but it feels like some things haven't changed. You're my person, and it feels like you always have been."
"And you're mine. I love you more than anything, Kay. Well, the only exception being—"
"Benji," I said, and we all smiled. "I know."
"But as I always say, this feels like something else entirely. And I love that feeling," she said. "All that keeps me from giggling and crying every minute of the day is the thought that I'd probably look unhinged."
"I've woken up in panic from you throwing a front flip on the bed just because you felt like it. I already think you're a crazy person."
With a faux indignant huff and a roll of her eyes, Alex chuckled. "I know I might be a little terrified of some things, but I have no doubt about you and me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, whether it's just the three of us, or even four or five."
Benji had been a silent observer of our heartfelt conversation, quietly absorbing every word. But at that, his body began to tremble with a suppressed titter as he turned toward us and snuggled closer. My heart expanded, and I drew him into a closer hug to hold him like a precious treasure to be guarded.
Emotion welled up, one lone tear escaping as I teetered between hope and vulnerability. "You promise?"
That sparkle in her eyes was confirmation enough. My love for these people was boundless, more expansive than the limitless horizon stretching before us, surpassing all I had ever imagined. It felt like something that had begun as a distant dream but had grown steadily in strength and intensity until it was an all-consuming fire that burned brighter with every day, every hour, every minute.
She nodded and took my hand in hers. "I know this probably isn't how you imagined your life, but you're stuck with us now."
"It's not even close to how I imagined it, but only because I never thought this could be my life." I smiled through the tears. "In just a single year, you have given me more than I ever thought I could have in an entire lifetime."
She gave me a cheeky smile before leaning over to kiss my forehead, and my heart filled with wonder. For the life of me, I could not fathom what I had done to deserve her. I felt like a mere mortal standing in the shadow of a divine being, the embodiment of all that is good and beautiful in this world. I was hopelessly in love with her, forever and always.
"What's wrong with us?" I uttered under my breath. "How did we get so sappy?"
Alex just kept on giggling as she pretended not to have heard me, like liquid sunshine, bursting into laughter as soon as our eyes met. And that was it, I was done for. I tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. "I'm not sure, but I think we can stop pretending it's a bad thing," she finally said, cocking her head to the side. "Isn't this the best kind of sappiness? To the moon and back and then twice more, remember?"
Never before had those words meant so much. But I had no retort for her, so I simply let out a bittersweet sigh and tightened my embrace around them. Bathed in the dying light of day, we sat on the brink of our own universe and watched in reverent silence as the sun dipped beyond the horizon. The sky blushed a tender shade of pink, mirroring the tender emotions that had seized our hearts. But the three of us were connected by a bond that seemed to glow brighter than the fading sun. An invisible connection, much like everlasting vines winding around our souls, binding us closer in ways words fell short of capturing and emotions barely grazed.
Many moons ago, had someone asked me about Alex, my naively pure eyes would have sparkled with such childlike wonder and unblemished excitement. Joyful warmth, lust for life, intensely vivid and full of potential, heart dancing with blissful anticipation, simplicity and love evoked in a dreamy smile. Truly, I had adored her from the first moment I laid eyes on her. In the naive days where everything was possible, pure innocence where nothing could hurt.
A year ago, her name had dwindled to a distant whisper, the pale aftermath of the once blazing ember. The light had dimmed, and the memories had been lost to time. All that remained were shallow shadows, ghostly echoes, and a longing for what once might have been. Hope had all but been diminished, and a resigned sadness had become the new norm in my life. Not understanding much of what had happened, I had been content in my own world, with her a distant thought. A thought that at one point had been so pure and joyous, and yet just a distant memory of simpler, sweeter days.
But today, it was as though all the dust from the smoldering coals within had been whisked away to reveal an unfurling flame. In her, I saw the fulfillment of everything I ever yearned for, of every silent plea and latent wish. My heart burst with passion, with love, and my eyes sparkled with renewed vigor. It was no longer a faint whisper, or an empty hope, but a full-fledged embrace and a passionate devotion. Now, I have taken her beaming spirit and placed it front and center in my life. No longer in the shadows of my memories, her name is my bliss and her face is my comfort. And I could never feel more alive or lucky. It was a life rooted in the past, driven by the present, and enriched by the promise of the future.
There is so much I could tell about Alex now. Like the endearing habit she has of trapping her lower lip between her teeth when her thoughts wander. Or the delightful irony of how a gentle hum escapes her lips as she listens to raucous rock music. Her cups of coffee often outlive their warmth, almost too often, making her resort to ice cubes to salvage the final sips. She scorches herself in the shower and emerges blushing with crimson, and on days when rain kisses the earth, she pauses to pick up snails from the road and ferries them to safety. As she tends to her plants, she speaks to them as if to children, and they respond with their own blooms. When she wields a paintbrush, her soul takes flight and goes off to a world of its own, leaving me to clean colorful fingerprints off myself and everything she has touched in her wake. And when she dares to gaze directly into the sun, she is sure to bless the sky with a sneeze.
I could wax lyrical for hours on end about the sheer determination, unwavering intelligence, and breathtaking beauty that emanates from her, both inside and out. If I were to even begin to recount the wondrous life she has raised, the one nestled in my embrace and clasping my hand, it would be a tale of such utter beauty. Real, raw, human beauty. And more love than one can count or speak of.
Every soul deserves an Alex in their lives, for she possesses a radiant touch that imbues her surrounding world with a little more sparkle, a little more magic. Much like a baker crafts bread from flour and water, and the earth cultivates a flower from a seed and a splash of rain, she turns the mundane into fascination and love. When she chooses to care, she does so with the entirety of her heart. What she offers is a comforting warmth, enduring patience, and a love that is as constant as the northern star. Her very presence feels intoxicating and addicting, a longing not born out of necessity but rather of purity and righteousness. She is irreverent, funny, authentically raw, and flawlessly imperfect with her quirks and idiosyncrasies. And has a way of seeing things in people that they can't see in themselves. That is why I love her so much, why my nature trusted her before my conscious mind could catch up.
Without her, life would become boredom one might be compelled to merely tolerate. In a world often laced with frigid indifference, she is safety and care, an anchor to which I cleave, one that grounds me yet sets me free. If she were a soothing song, I would get lost in her sound forever and hum the melody in my heart always, finding solace in each gentle note. If she were fire, I'd remain endlessly in her glow and let her consume me. If she were a waiting room, I would bide in its corners until the horizon of time, bleeding out my troubles. Like a balm to my soul, she brings comfort and peace to my mind. Her love a salve that leaves me whole, loving, and evermore kind.
The radiant hope of the future shone brighter than ever before. Each day fortified the conviction within my heart that I had chanced upon the elusive piece of the puzzle of life that had eluded me for too long. After meandering through life's winding paths and turning corners that led to dead ends, it was as though the pieces had come together, as though this was where I was meant to be. It was a life that seemed tailor-made for us, meticulously crafted for our mutual existence, where each piece dovetailed flawlessly into the next.
Amidst the gales that had lashed and battered me, the winds had conspired to sculpt near perfection. Every choice I had made, even the ones that had pushed me to the brink of destruction, that had me teetering on edge between life and death, had led me to this moment where complete peace reigned in my mind. And were it not for her, I would have been struck down, swallowed by remorseless sea. She had somehow reassembled my childhood. She was the one to teach me how to feel love again. And that was all I wanted her to know. That I would love her for the rest of my life and even beyond that, if it were possible. No matter what lay ahead, I would stand together with her, my heart in hers, and our future in our hands.
Once, I used to yearn to evade the hands of time, to never grow old, and to slip away from this world before the wrinkles could etch themselves onto my skin. For so long, I had wandered in search of belonging, a place to call home, and a family to call my own. And it was in the unlikeliest of souls that I had found it. Now, my heart beat to a different tune. I longed for nothing more than to walk hand in hand with the ones I loved the most through the years that stretched before us, to grow old in the comfort of their embrace, and to witness the changing of the tides and the shifting of the stars with them by my side.
There was nothing else I could ever ask for, for I had all I ever needed. No longer I wished for an end, but for a life without one. That is what happens when you find your person. The universe seems to conspire in your favor.