*Please don't message me on chat. I rarely check it, and I'd hate to have you think I was ignoring you. *

I'm not sure how to start this; I can't use the pet name I have for you, because I haven't called you it yet. I can't use your name, because I don't know it yet. I guess 'hi!' will have to do, though it doesn't feel anywhere near as fancy as it should for this.

I hope you're okay out there where you are. What's the weather like? Is it the cold chill of winter there, or is it the sweltering heat of somewhere tropical? Is it summer for you right now, while it's spring for me? What time is it? Are you in my future literally as well as figuratively? Are you somewhere in my past, doomed to be one step behind me until the very moment that you're not?

It's the time of year where we get a little introspective, the lonely ones; we wonder why we're lonely, wonder why we have to be alone, wonder if we'll still be like this next year. I say 'the time of year' like it's something special, but we both know, you and I, that every moment of every hour of every day is 'that time'. It's insidious, is that loneliness; it worms its way into all the corners of your heart and holds on tight. It whispers that you'll never find someone, love someone, have someone of your own. Don't you worry, my darling; you and I will have a love that will shout so loud we'll drown out those whispers, banish that loneliness, send that darkness packing. Only good vibes. Only light. Only love.

I'm going to assume- and I apologise, heart of my heart, for doing so- that you're a little bit broken somehow. That's okay. So am I. Like attracts like, right? We've got our quirks and foibles and imperfections, and I will love you despite- or perhaps because of- them, as you will love me for mine. Maybe life's been harder to you than you'd like. Maybe it is harder. Maybe you've taken the long way to some things that most people take the short way to. Maybe you've got your issues. Maybe you haven't.

It's okay.

You've weathered the storm this far, your soul adrift in the stormy sea of life; but it's okay, because I'm here, and I'll hold you close and walk into the eye of the storm with you. And together, hand in hand, we'll weather whatever comes our way, stronger together than we ever could be apart.

It's funny to say, but I love you already. Every little bit of you. I know, I know, I can't say that when I don't know you- but I will, my sweet. I will. And I will love you so fiercely, so intensely, with every piece of me.

I don't know where you are, when you are, who you are, but know this, my darling.

When you're ready to find me, I'll be right here waiting for you.

Yours already,

D.

If you want to listen as you read, there's a voice-read version here that's more or less the same: https://vocaroo.com/kpmQirnAoOm