If I Had Known You Then

If I had known you in another life,

I think the wind would’ve whispered your name

long before I ever had the chance to speak it.

Maybe I would have passed you in a crowded street,

drawn not by face,

but by the way the air softened around you -

like the universe paused

just to breathe in your presence.

Maybe we would’ve locked eyes

on a quiet morning

somewhere beneath a sleepy sun,

and though no words passed between us,

my soul would’ve leaned forward

and whispered, “Ah, there you are.”

Because even now,

in this life,

in this fragile, beautiful sliver of time,

I find myself stunned -

truly, quietly stunned -

by the way you entered my world

not like a storm,

but like a sunrise:

slow, certain,

and suddenly everything

looked different in your light.

You see -

I’ve tried so many times to say it,

to wrap these feelings in sentences

that don’t fall short,

but words are small,

and what I feel for you is not.

You are not just “someone I met.”

You are not just a name in my phone

or a voice I hear now and then.

You are the echo

of something eternal -

a familiar warmth

I didn’t realize I was missing

until you gave it back to me

without ever trying to.

You’ve become the quiet space

where my thoughts find rest,

the steady hand at my back

when the world feels too heavy.

You are the laughter

that lives in the cracks of hard days,

the comfort I carry

even when you’re not near.

And though we’ve not had years -

not yet —

it feels like I've known you

across lifetimes.

I imagine us,

in places we’ve never been

but somehow already belong to -

on winding roads

with nothing but stars and rambles,

in coffee shops

where time forgets to move,

on mountaintops,

shoulders pressed together,

saying nothing

because nothing needs to be said.

There’s a kind of magic

in the way we’ve built this -

day by day,

laugh by laugh,

soft moment by soft moment.

A kind of quiet unfolding

that doesn’t demand attention,

only presence.

Only trust.

Only truth.

And I trust you

with the quietest parts of me -

the ones I don’t show the world,

the ones that shake and doubt

and feel too much.

You never flinch.

You never step back.

You simply stay.

And that…

that is the rarest kind of friendship

I have ever known.

I think of our days often -

in the in-between moments

when life slows down,

when the world hushes -

and every time,

my heart lights up like a lantern.

Because I remember:

You're here.

I'm here.

And somehow,

we found each other

in this vast, wild world.

Even when time moves on

and the world keeps changing,

even if distance stretches

and life tugs us

in different directions,

I know this:

You are woven into me.

Not in a way that hurts,

but in a way that steadies.

So when you feel alone,

when the days grow long

or the weight grows loud,

close your eyes -

I’ll be there,

in the quiet beside you,

in the warmth that rises

just behind your ribs

when you think of all “our days.”

And if I could do it all again -

every breath, every stumble,

every twist and turn

that led me to you -

I would.

Without hesitation.

Without question.

Because the story that gave me you

is my favorite one.

And if the world had handed me

a thousand pens

and told me to write the perfect companion,

the perfect soul to walk beside me -

I still could not have written you.

You are better than fiction,

better than fate,

better than anything

I could have imagined

on my best day.

So thank you -

for walking with me,

for holding space for me,

for showing up

not just in presence,

but in heart.

Thank you for the kindness

that lives in your voice,

the loyalty in your silence,

the love in your friendship.

Thank you

for making this life

feel a little less lonely,

a little more like home.

Forever and always -

whether near or far,

in this life

or the next -

I carry you with me.

You are,

and always will be,

my greatest blessing:)