Meant for You, Every Time

"The world is breaking, Shai, and you have to go back to where it's safe," he whispers, his voice cracking as his eyes search mine, trying to memorize every detail for the very last time. He takes a shaky breath, pressing his forehead against mine so I can feel the desperate beat of his pulse.

The warmth of his skin only makes the impending loss sharper. My chest heaves as I try to breathe through the suffocating weight of it, wanting to scream, to beg him to stop talking like this is really the end-but the air is trapped in my throat, choked out by my own tears.

"I love you, Shanaiah Vasquez." The confession leaves his lips as a ragged whisper, heavy with the weight of a thousand unsaid things.

Hearing my full name on his lips fractures whatever strength I have left. It doesn't sound like a declaration anymore; it sounds like an elegy. A final marking of my existence before he lets me go.

He closes his eyes for a brief second, swallowing down the sob building in his throat before looking back at me with absolute certainty. "And if there is another life waiting for us... I hope the universe gives us a second chance. Because I promise I'll find you, and I'll choose you all over again."