I saw in her a simplicity, a lack of burdens, a freedom which I longed for. She walked all the more confidently and gracefully. She seemed at peace with life, the exact opposite of my tumultuous thoughts in a war with themselves. The recent past had been a little too eventful. My heart ran wild. She catalyzed an emotional storm in my mind which I did my best to keep from spilling out onto the people around me. I emerged an entirely different person, and guilt pulled me down to the earth as I had yet to understand why she was so significant for me. Yet, I needed not be guilty. The mind and the body are connected. Physical attraction can only follow something so significant, induced without artifice by a love for her peace and clarity which I had not felt in ages. I wanted to surround myself with her aura. Whenever she talked about herself she did so with no affectations. She was usually concise in what she said. Her unembellished way of dress and manner stood out starkly against everyone else’s either showy or sorrowful way of being. I wanted so deeply to trust someone, the very thing I am hardly ever able to do. Everyone gets hurt sometimes, but I found someone worth risking the hurt for. Even if I do get hurt, it will come as a choice. A tattoo across my heart I can look back at with pride rather than a scar to risk being torn open. A muse to burn into my mind and draw on for strength when the pains I carry feel too heavy. A forgiveness, a reason to keep going, a reminder that there is something worth fighting for. That happiness, whether I find it now or far in the future, can exist.