You meet at your lowest—

no money, no connections, and nothing to fall back on.

Love isn’t unconditional nor conditional, but rather situational in which

Your parents only smile when well rested and

your classmates only smile when they get an “A” on the most recent test.

So you prepare your backpack with a flashlight to see future troubles,

a GPS to decide your path,

and food to sustain you.

You walk alone, and it’s painful because

your mind can only think of so much and your backpack can only hold so much —

you don’t have medical supplies to bandage your bleeding feet and you don’t have

tissues to wipe away your burning tears.

Until you meet someone else and they —

also, having a torn backpack and blisters look at you with caution.

The road is narrow, and you simply walk forward together.

They offer you some of their bandages, and you give them food for their growling stomach.

Soon, as the road grows wider and the path smoother, you still choose to walk together —

unconditionally

to the end.