Set the Record Straight

by Hannah Bonam-Young

“That I’d spent my life as a half, and now I’m whole. Like I’ve been sleeping so long under a haze—an illusion of comfort—then you came in. Sunshine and golden rays of light. And you made everything brighter.”

“I actually thought there were only two kinds of love before. That it was just love like your family or romantic love. But I think there may be hundreds of kinds. Love like a new lease on life. Love like a place to exist freely. Love like being understood. Love like the contented quiet. Love like freshly baked cookies. Love like a thin veil between wishing it’d started earlier and loving the way it began.”

“You’ve earned a happily ever after, and I hope that’s me.”

“They’ll always be the people who gave up on their daughter because of hate. But you can choose to not let that define you. You can choose to fully, unequivocally, unconditionally love yourself…. The way that I do. Maybe our love, combined, is enough to fill that space inside you.”

“And I’m proud to be yours.”