The Temperature of Me and You

by Brian Zepka

This got me thinking that one ingredient for love might be when the person you are with starts loving the people in your life who came before them.

I don’t know why we mock people who want to be with the person they love. We say things like, “Doubt it will last” and “It’s cute for now.” But I think when it’s real, it will always last—whether you are together or not. Even if it just lasts as a memory. It’s still something.

None of those things can exist without the other part. When you lose that many parts of yourself, it hurts. And when you realize those parts are irreplaceable, you become lost too.

There’s no complex explanation for love, like I thought. It happens unexpectedly, just like how Jordan walked into Dairy Queen tonight. You’re never ready for it. You can’t be. There’s no way to see it coming.

Flames and floating are pretty cool, but there’s no superpower more profound than being yourself and making someone fall in love with you.