What could I tell you? I paced my mind like a fresh prisoner in captivation. Like a rabid feline, caged, I scratched every wall, shredding my own existence. There were no words. Secrets coursed beneath the surface of my parting lips, but my voice had run astray, betraying me for the best of purposes. My hands came to my throat, nails digging into the flesh…I tried to choke the words out. You wanted my stories to ring throughout your ears, but you see, they can never escape me in that form. My own depths defeated me…I dropped my hands in surrender…and then ran my fingertips like liquid over your palms, their tremble speaking in some type of Morse code. Through the silence behind a bit lip that shivered from the coldness of your possible misinterpretation, I told you I loved you for the first time. I felt my eyes light up like a rendition of the northern lights, if only you’d look into them. Your face had long since fallen shyly…eyes fixated on the frantic shuffling of your feet. A tear fell down my cheek, and yours. You feared that in the silence I was hiding from you. You didn’t see me cry as you asked me what was more important. My life or our love. Desperation allowed me to whisper the first, and you turned without realizing, you were my life.