I have never been good at telling people how I feel in real time - not directly, especially in romantic situations. When I was much younger, I would simply stay silent - but yearn ferociously, loving quietly under the radar. Yet this does not mean my love was not there, quite the opposite - because I spoke less, I absorbed more about them - every minute detail imprinted into my mind. I struggled to contain all that raged within me, afraid that whimpers of it would escape or, even worse, be noticed.
Later, driven by the desire to connect, I began to infer how I felt. Inference felt safe because there was room to move back, to have plausible deniability. And so, I danced in this liminal space, breathing life into subtleties. I felt most alive twirling between the lines, and in many ways, it became a language in itself - for me and for others like me.
As I moved through life, I became much more direct with my words - intentionally so, shaped by the experience of harrowing loss. I didn't want those I loved to ever be unsure of how much they meant to me.
ɪɴ ᴍʏ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢs™ ✨🛒