Loss.

To love at all is to risk loss; to weigh the good times and memories against father time. Father time always wins, but he is not cruel. This pain, this sorrow is not etched into your soul forever. It hurts, sure, but that means that the love you felt is real and will continue to be real.

Many will say that “Time heals all wounds.” And while it may not be of comfort in the moment, it will always be true. The pain of loss will not disappear, but it will subside, it will ease. The pain will slowly fade as it is replaced by fonder, happier memories.

Somewhere along the way, when you think of the one that you have lost, you will no longer remember the earth-shattering phone call, the hospital rooms, or the tears on your cheeks. Instead, you will take pause after smelling the same flowers they once grew, or a meal they once cooked for you. You will smile as you hear the calls of the birds they once pointed out to you. You will recollect as you feel the softness of a blanket they once wrapped you in. The pain is there, but it will be overcome by gold-tinted memories of smiles, laughter, happiness, warmth and love.

They are gone, but they live on in your mind, your memories, and your heart, and so they will be with you forever. You will walk outside one day and in the warmth of the sun you will feel their arms around you, you will hear their laughter in the sounds of rain hitting the pavement, you will see their smile in the dazzling colors of the setting sun.

All that we can hope to do is weather the storm when father time comes to collect, and look forward to when the pain lessens and the memories begin. Because they always will. As surely as the night is dark, the dawn will come.