Our Infinite Fates

by Laura Steven

this was the one blind faith I had: that love was a physical force, and it was never wasted. Once it was called out into the universe, it would echo back to us forever.

Bravery is picking up the fear and carrying it alongside you, rather than allowing it to block the path.”

That was the great peril of living in perpetual hope, of letting unbridled optimism inform your every move. When things didn’t work out the way you hoped, the way you believed they would, there was also the genuine shock to contend with. A subtle rearranging of your worldview. Unwanted evidence against the faith you held so dear.

Never have they tried to protect themselves from that pain. They love softly, and fiercely, and openly, and it’s the bravest thing I know. The most human thing I know.

It is all so foolish, to love and be loved, knowing it will always end like this, and yet I yearned for it more than I yearned to breathe.