a small constellation

for licku

a few things i don't say enough out loud, so here they are, written down where they can't get lost in a busy day.

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every one of these is real. no big gestures, just the small true things that made me want to keep showing up.

one

for the nights that ran too late

for the calls that went on long after we should've slept, when we'd talk about nothing and everything and somehow neither of us wanted to hang up first.

two

for catching me mid-spiral

for noticing when i was reacting to the story in my head instead of what was actually happening, and pulling me back to what's real instead of just letting me spin.

three

for staying on the rough days

for the days it would've been so much easier to just walk away, and you didn't. you stayed and worked through it with me instead of at me.

four

for naming the pattern, not the person

for telling me straight that it's the reaction that's the problem, not who i am. that's a harder, kinder thing to say than most people bother with.

five

for the laugh that shows up uninvited

for making me laugh in the exact moment i wanted to disappear instead, without even trying to. that timing is not a coincidence, i think you just know me.

six

for loving the parts i'm still working on

for being patient with the parts of me i'm still learning to be patient with myself, instead of asking me to hide them until they're fixed.

seven

for choosing this, again and again

for picking honesty over silence and staying over leaving, over and over, in all the small unglamorous moments no one else sees. that's the real thing.

tap the star

on their own, they were just scattered fragments. but you've quietly helped me weave them into something meaningful
a future that doesn't just feel possible, but one i truly want.

thank you for helping me become someone worth staying for.

i love you, licku.

always — chinu