The version of you i waited for

I waited for him in ways that never made noise.
In patience. In silence. In understanding he never asked for.

I loved the man he was, but i stayed for the man he could become.
I believed that if i loved harder, stayed longer, forgave deeper-one day, he'd meet me where i was.

He didn't break me.
Waiting did.

This is my story-
about loving someone through their becoming,
and realizing too late that you were disappearing while they were growing.

Because sometimes, the version of them you're waiting for
only arrives after you've already let go.