What can I say? For a while, I thought you were it. For once, I wasn't just pinning to my Wedding Board on Pinterest with a big question mark over the groom's face. I imagined on that day, you would be the one standing next to me. I know we were young, but the way I felt about you was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I could not imagine love being any better than what we had. In the beginning, we were beautiful. We laughed for hours and I felt like a child all over again. Every moment with you was defined by a carefree emotion that made me feel more alive. You became my best friend.

Then, something changed. Over the years, my best friend turned into someone I didn't know. Once upon a time, every day was full of playful teasing, hugs, compliments and all these little actions that showed how much you loved me. You used to want to spend endless days with me, and then all of a sudden it felt like I was pulling teeth to get a few minutes of your time all to myself. We would walk places side by side, but the distance between us was tangible. You didn't hold my hand as tight as you used to, and eventually, you did not hold my hand at all. I began to wonder if you still believed in us. Doubts plagued my head, but every time I tried to talk it out with you, you made me feel ashamed for even suggesting that you didn't care about me as much as you always had. We became a train wreck waiting to happen, but I still hoped against all hope that you were the one, so I strapped in and held on for dear life. My friends told me that it was time to move on, that I deserved better, that there was more to love than what we had grown to be.

I convinced myself that I wasn't settling, that you were the single most incredible part of my life. I felt that with you, I had a place to rest my head and to call home. I was wrong. Home is someplace...someone...you can always come back to. When I needed you the most, you were gone. And I lost myself somewhere between those nights when I thought waking up beside you was the only way I wanted to live. I defined myself as someone who belonged to you, but you never really belonged to me, did you? You cannot paint poetry and romance into a love that isn't real anymore. Maybe it was there once, long ago, before the years and the mileage transformed us into strangers on two very different pathways to our own personal nirvanas. For as long as I can remember, it seemed we were holding on to each other for some security out of the fear that we'd end up alone. Darling, that's not love.

I believe it's out there; for you, for me, for everyone. A someone who will never cease for a second in time to take the breath of your soul away like a million cascading meteors on a night when the sky is silver eyes painted across a velvet plane. She's out there for you, he's out there for me. We'll find them, someday, and all of this prelude to the crescendo of our lives will make sense and be worth it.

I want you to know that even if I could not love you forever, I will never stop caring about you. With time, every inch of the bitterness has subsided. I can say it wholeheartedly now, that I wish you nothing but the best; a life that is always full of laughter and a life that is golden. I no longer wish I could erase the memories of us, but rather, I appreciate the lovely moments we shared. We grew up together, even if in growing up we grew apart. After all that you and I have been through, I have one final request to ask of you. Don't ever look back and think of us as a failed attempt at happiness, but please remember us as the first step in the right direction. Leading toward the arms of someone who can capture your heart, not for mere moments of your existence, but for eternity, and whatever awaits us beyond.