We were born just five days apart, both of us in South Africa, our mothers meeting and becoming friends before we even knew what friendship was. From that moment, we were inseparable – always together, every single day. Trouble was our language; we cut each other’s hair, hid away together in our little world, bonded over secrets and adventures only we could understand. Five years, ten months, and thirty-two days – that’s how long we had.

But then, the worst happened. I was kidnapped, and saved luckily. But that fear my parents felt led them to decide we had to move, 2 oceans away to get exact. Just days before my sixth birthday. I remember how lonely that new place felt, how empty it was. I've felt that ever since. Still, we texted. Less and less as the years went by, but we always seemed to find each other again. Twice I managed to come back, and each time we picked up as though not a day had passed.

I remember that first visit back so vividly. You were even more beautiful than I remembered. We called each other soulmates, not in any romantic sense but in a way that felt, more true in the soul kind of way. I felt you in my heart. It was like you were a part of my very soul. Even after all that time.

The second time I came back, we were sixteen. That trip was everything. We went on a safari, stayed in a spa together, talked for hours about everything and nothing. I remember lying beside you, sharing the same bed without even a thought of anything beyond pure connection. It was the closest I ever came to confessing, and I regret every single day that I didn’t.

Then, I had to leave again. And from that point, our texts started to fade, swallowed up by distance and the lives we were building separately. I still saw glimpses of you, though, through social media. Snapshots of your life without me, even though I never stopped loving you.

I’m sorry I left you. Not once. Not twice. But three times. It’s a regret I carry with me every single day.

And today, when you asked if I’d ever move back, my answer is yes – only if you asked me to. But I know you won’t. You’ve found someone now, someone who loves you, and I’m happy for you, truly. He’s a good man, and he treats you with the kindness you deserve.

I’m sorry for leaving, for everything I didn’t say and everything I should have said.

You are, and always will be, my love that never was. And the love that should have been

With all the love I couldn’t give, because I was young and cowardly.

P.S I don't know what flair suits this best