Packing and Breathing Under Sky

My beloved Alice,

It’s the little things in this world that bind us to calmness. The simple act of closing our eyes and trying to sleep. The content stomach after being fed. The small curl of hair that stands tall on the head. The truth that one will never leave them self but also finds comfort in another so dear. The dip of a leaf under heat and rain. The ten toes that prance and rest with the flow of the foot. These are what will follow us Alice, you and I, throughout the world, no matter the ebb and flow. The weightless touch of water and the wrinkles that hug our skin. Our eyes will fall into each others countless times over these next six months and even as we are consumed by the wonders of this large world it will only enhance the details and comforts of our own individual and shared, internal worlds. The balance of our oneness and our independence with rise and fall with the tide of each day. Our gardens flourishing and wilting and growing back stronger everyday. We will discover how every unknown is know and every know unknown. Because the large oceans are made from the mouths of many thousands of ever smaller streams and rivers, easy to grasp. And every trickle of water is an ocean of its own, traveling only to become that of a larger being.

Everyday we build habits that equate to small steps into an ever diverse and unique life. The rivers of our worlds have merged for the moment and as we together choose the path forward it is know that this river may never be so powerful as it is now. I want to be able to accept all that is and build stone by stone. We will create this river of ours with our own two hands, choosing the smooth and the abrasive, the willing and the stubborn, the noisy and the peaceful. There is a balance to everything that we will stumble upon day after day, especially rooted deeply inside ourselves.

I can see the row of your teeth so clearly in my head. The way your gums stand tall as if arches binding mouth to head. Your lips that can be chapped day after day and yet your resilience holds them only to growth.

For now we are side by side. Fingers so tightly intertwined that the numbness is more welcomes than unwanted.

Now let us take a deep breath and hold it while our departure date creeps up around the corner. Let us pack our backpacks and unpack and try to figure out how we can be smart but also accept that we are naive in many ways. Let us watch the blue and golden sky above us while we say goodbye to the snow and welcome the humid land awaiting us on the other side of the world. Let us part from those we love and who love us. But have everyone know and trust that we have each other, and for now, that is enough.

Yours always, Clarissa