October 13, 2025 

I'm not exactly sure how my summer romance turned to pure dismal and misfortune. We both started unburdened, untouched by anything dark. I was moonlight and soft whispers. Curiosity, and warm cinnamon. He was oak and sunrise. Honor and quiet determination. 8 months ago I ran my fingers through the translucent clear water of the Pacific as the reflection of the sun created a ripple of iridescent shimmer across the waves. I listened carefully to the tides murmur as the specific rhythm changed to soles sifting through the sand. A quiet heat brushed along my spine lingering like a secret left unspoken. As I breathed in I discovered a new scent that rushed to every part of my body. His breath smelled of cool citrus and sunlit edges. My eyes immediately went to the threads of gold spun into his hair as the sunlight draped over him. His brown eyes displayed home, quiet earth, and warm tea. From that instant until August 2nd the world had shimmered as if I were walking through an inescapable dream. 

August 2nd, 2025

Today Theo left. I can’t feel anything. I’ve just been sitting, staring at a wall, watching the same crack in the paint for the past two hours. My therapist used to say, “If you can’t speak it, write it.” So here I am, but the words don’t flow- they drag. I stopped seeing her when I met Theo. I stopped seeing everyone. It was just us. Like two puzzle pieces, except there was no puzzle- only him and me. When I laughed it was through him. When I cried it was through him. My hope, my strength, my pulse- it was all threaded through him. Now he’s gone and I feel like a house with the lights turned off- rooms ransacked, looted of anything warm, anything alive