The Light You Gave Me

I still remember the way I smiled when I first met you. After hearing your voice for so long without knowing what you looked like, there you were—real, right in front of me, more than I ever imagined. I remember the way my heart pounded in my chest, not from fear, not from nervousness, but from something deeper, something I had never quite felt before. It was as if the universe had been holding its breath, waiting for that moment, waiting for you.

I remember the way you kissed me for the first time. It wasn’t rushed, it wasn’t hurried—it was careful, as if you were afraid I would slip away, as if you were scared that I would vanish the moment your lips touched mine. But I didn’t vanish. I melted. Right there, in your arms, in your warmth, in the quiet space between your heartbeat and mine.

You made me feel like the only girl in the world. And still do. Even now, even after all this time, you look at me like I am a secret only you have uncovered, like I am something to be cherished, something to be held, something to be loved. You have brought so much light into my life, so much love, so much meaning that I sometimes wonder how I ever existed before you. How did the world not seem so dull, so quiet, so empty before you walked into it?

Thank you. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Thank you for bringing out the best in me. Thank you for seeing parts of me I never dared to show anyone else and holding them gently, without judgment, without hesitation. You have made me better, not because you asked me to change, not because you forced me to grow, but because your love made it easy. Because when you love someone the way you love me, becoming better isn’t a choice—it’s a promise.

There are days when I think about what life would be like without you, and I shudder at the thought. Not because I think I wouldn’t survive, but because I know the world would never shine quite as bright. It would never feel as warm. It would never be as kind. You are in the smallest details of my life now. In the way I smile for no reason when I think of you. In the way my fingers trace circles on my skin when I miss your touch. In the way I laugh a little softer when I’m alone, because I know I’ll tell you the joke later.

Do you know what you mean to me? Do you know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me? I don’t think I say it enough. I don’t think words will ever be enough. How do I tell you that you are the home I never knew I needed? That even in silence, even in distance, you are always with me?

I still remember the way you held my hand that day, the way your fingers curled around mine, as if you were afraid to let go. And maybe I was afraid too. Maybe we were both afraid of how deep this love would run, how much it would change us, how much it would mean. But here we are. Here we stand, side by side, still choosing each other, still finding new reasons to love, still growing, still holding on.

There are not enough words to say it all. Not enough pages to write what you mean to me. But I will spend every day trying. I will spend every moment making sure you never doubt, never question, never wonder if you are loved. You are. More than you will ever know. More than I will ever be able to explain.

I love you. In the quiet moments. In the chaos. In the days that feel too heavy and the nights that feel too long. In the laughter, in the tears, in the spaces between. I love you in every way that a person can love another. And I always will.

Neta.