Love of my life.

I love you.

“I’m going to treat you like someone I love,” I say softly in the mirror.

—

I talk kindly to her. I brush her hair gently and tell her she’s beautiful, inside and out.

I hug her when she’s feeling sad, reminding her “it’s okay to feel” and “this too shall pass.”

I put on her favorite songs, just because I know she loves them, and I dance around the room with her because I know that always makes her feel better.

I take her to the beach because it’s her favorite place, and we play in the waves together because I know that’s her favorite.

—

I reassure her that she’s capable, and talented, and loved, and special, because I know how often she doubts those things.

I don’t have to lie because I know they’re all true, even if she doesn’t.

—

I hold her as she cries because I hate seeing her hurt, and remind her that one day, she’ll find a person as tender with her heart as she is with everyone else’s.

I braid her hair and tell her that all of the love she gives will eventually come back, it always does.

—

I read her books each night because I know how much she loves getting lost in a story of a life that is not her own.

And every night, right before we fall asleep, I whisper “I love you” to her in the darkness,

and I mean it.