How you love them in the evening, when they hold your hand in crosswalks. When you both start talking at the same time because there’s so much to be said that you’ve never shared with anyone else and this is the one person whom you can share the big thoughts that usually lurk behind a smile and music references and are dying to come out to the person who will understand.

How you love them in the night, when they are man and you are woman. And words lose meaning and dissolve like cotton candy at the touch of water. And eyes lock and chests heave and breath syncs. And the only sounds are the ones you recall months later.

How you love them in the morning, under wrinkled sheets. Before you must get up and tackle life. The mystic hour when days still hold so much potential. Before you lose them to real concerns. When they smile calmly at the luxury of feeling the warmth radiate from your skin. And they pull you closer, daring minutes to tick away.

How you love them when your phone lights up and you see the text of a random thought they felt compelled to share and it had to be you they shared it with.

How you hate them when all those things disappear and you are left with the cold void of their absence. How dare they have made you feel things you didn’t know you’d love so much only to give way to the cruelty of solitude.

How you love them in the past when you see how far you’ve come because you knew them and they brought out something in you that pushed you to forge on and evolve into the you you are now.

You love them. You thank them. You apologize. You ask for forgiveness. You lay them gently down in the current of the stream and watch them float away.