Day by day I hold myself back with you even more, adding to the ever increasing burden of things left unuttered. The weight of the unsaid words has become so heavy on my chest that it now threatens to suffocate me.

-

I'm profoundly content and the uncontrollable tears of joy bear a testament to the relief you've brought my unsettled heart.
I have loved you mildly on the outwards but with a fierce burning intensity inside, and to know that it's requited has given me a new elixir on life. I feel ready to take on the world. And this right here, is the true power of love. A fathomless force within each of our reach, if we just learnt to fully surrender.

-

You tell me you've been in love with me for so long and with such an intensity that my very being has permeated into your existence too. You tell me there's no YOU without a ME in it. I'm a part of your dreams, your experiences, your thoughts and your very essence.
For you, we both exist, but only as one.

-

Nothing could have prepared me for the words that you finally spoke. Of all the probabilities I'd calculated in my head in anticipation of your response, the least was this, a full reciprocation of my feelings from you. I'm too stunned to talk. I know you're continuing to speak, too restless to get it all out of your system, but I have long stopped hearing.

-

You give a gentle squeeze to my hand, breaking into my reverie. I open my eyes slowly, only to find yours completely focused on my face. How much simpler life would have been if we weren't separated by a sea of words. Expressions were all the communication my soul needed. I would have been happy to get up and leave just at this instant before you brought any words into this conversation. But I owe it to you. I poured my heart on paper. Today, I have to be a willing audience to your words.

-

I take a deep breath and close my eyes
for a few seconds. Regardless of
what you say to me hereafter,
I'm determined to etch this memory
in my mind and heart forever.
Me and you existing
alone in this world,
engulfed solely by love.
No complications,
just pure
unadulterated love.

-

Once we're comfortably settled, I feel tongue tied. All my wit has abandoned me today, of all days. You're content being quiet but continue to stare unabashedly. I find it disconcerting, while you seem to be thoroughly enjoying my discomfort.
I'm about to say something, when you reach out to me, and extend your hand, leaving me utterly confused. I don't want to appear stupid but am also not sure if you want me to hold it. I hesitate and then you smile a deep smile, almost as if you're reading my mind. Its all the confidence I need. I stretch my hand too and you grab hold of it.

-

I mourn the demise of our love,
a love I used to feel in my bones,
a love that I thought would
set me free and a love I thought
was going to be my deliverance.
Instead, it has now become my shackles, imprisoning me within the idea that I had
meticulously stitched about our lives together.
It has now entrapped me,
and I see no escape.

-

You've seen me a hundred times before, but today when you look at me, it feels different. I walk into the cafe and we spot each other almost instantaneously. You continue to hold my gaze since my very first step inside. The energy between us is different today and I know you feel it too. As I draw nearer, you get up to hug me and maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I feel your hug differently too. Today, I felt like your embrace communicated a deep affection, but I quell this ray of hope bubbling inside me, in fear that I'm reading too much into it.

-

You repeat my name and this time, I finally respond. You take a deep breath and ask me if I really meant what I wrote. I let out a small laugh, more out of exasperation than anything else, but it breaks the tension in the air. You nervously laugh at the foolishness of your own question and just like that, the seriousness of our conversation dissipates. You tell me that you just flew in town and want to see me today. I feel a jolt in my body. I'm certainly not ready to face you. While my innermost feelings are fully exposed, I know nothing about how you feel. I realize I'm trapped. Seeing you is the last thing I want but also the only thing that will bring me solace. And thus, with my heart beating wildly, I agree to see you.

-