You’re thinking, maybe it would be easier to let it slip<br />let it go<br />say ”I give up” one last time and give him a sad smile.<br />You’re thinking<br />it shouldn’t be this hard,<br />shouldn’t be this dark,<br />thinking<br />love could flow easily with no holding back<br />and you’ve seen others find their match and build something great<br />together,<br />of each other,<br />like two halves fitting perfectly and now they achieve great things<br />one by one, always together, and it seems grand.<br />But you love him. Love him like a black stone in your chest you couldn’t live without because it fits in there. Makes you who you are and the thought of him gone—no more—makes your chest tighten up and <br />maybe this is your fairytale. Maybe this is your castle.<br /><br />You could get it all on a shiny piece of glass with wooden stools and a neverending blooming garden<br />but that’s not yours. This is yours. The cracks and the faults, <br />the ugly words in the winter<br />walking home alone and angry<br />but falling asleep thinking you love him.<br />This is your fairy tale. <br />The quiet in the hallway, wishing for him to turn around, tell you to stay, tell you to please don’t go I need you<br />like you need me<br />and maybe it’s not a Jane Austen novel but this is your novel and <br />your castle<br />and you can run from it your whole life but this is here<br />in front of you.<br />Maybe nurture it?<br />Sweet girl, maybe close the world off and look at him for an hour<br />or two.<br />This is your fairy. <br />It ain’t perfect and it ain’t honey sweet with roses on the bed.<br />It’s real and raw and ugly at times. But this is your love. <br />Don’t throw it away searching for someone else’s love. Don’t be greedy. Instead, shelter it. Protect it. Capture every second of easy, pull through every storm of hardship. And when you can, look at him, lying next to you, trusting you not to harm him. Trusting you not to go. <br />Be someone’s someone for someone.<br />Be that someone for him.<br /><br />That’s your fairy tale. This is your castle.<br />Now move in. Build a home. Build a house. Build a safety around things you love. <br />It’s yours if you make it so.<br /><br />Welcome home, sweet girl, it will be all be fine.