I write for the one who pulled me from the darkness,
Whose presence we kept hidden,
A secret shared only between the shadows,
Invisible to all, but etched into our souls.

We no longer speak,
Yet you will always live in the corners of my mind,
Even if you’ve forgotten the girl who once knew your name.

To be honest,
I was a girl who wore indifference like armor,
Unmoved by the whispers or the tears of others—
Even when they fell at my feet,
I refused to turn around.
I was consumed by a bitter fire,
A burning hatred that twisted in my chest,
Wishing the ones who had hurt me
Would taste the agony I had swallowed.
I wanted them to drown in the same darkness
That I had learned to breathe.
I spit venom at anyone who dared to crack open my vulnerability,
Throwing words like daggers,
Not caring how deeply they sank.
And that,
That is my most agonizing regret.

Then you came,
A quiet light in my storm.
You shattered the walls I had built
With your soft words,
Your patient presence,
Your belief that I was worth more.
You taught me to see the beauty in my family,
To heal the wounds I had hidden so deep,
To love myself when I had forgotten how.
You showed me that not everyone was a monster,
That not everyone would betray me,
That love could still exist in a world I had long considered cruel.
You taught me it was okay to be whole again,
To let the hurt fall away.

You once said,
“I wish you could have the love you deserved—
Someone who would listen,
Who would sit with you in your silence,
Hold you when the world felt too cold,
Until you no longer feared the ghosts of your past.”
The truth I was too terrified to face was that I was haunted—
Haunted by the fear of losing,
By the fear of being shattered again.

To you,
I don’t know if these words will ever reach you,
But they are written with a heart full of gratitude.
You saved me,
Even if only for a moment.
I will always carry you,
Not in the space between us,
But in the very marrow of my bones.
As you once said,
Let our memories be carved into our souls,
Even if we are no longer close in body,
You are forever close in heart.