I don’t know why they have to make love stories so huge. So colorful. So improbable.
Why they have to pipe in dramatic music. Force a tug of war. Turn one person into the conquest and the other into a conqueror.
I don’t want a lover who is going to burn me to the ground on the way to winning my heart. Silly movie makers, don’t they know that ruined cities aren’t any good to live in?
They taught us to fall in love with drama. And we grew up not knowing that movie sets don’t have to support residents. Not after filming wraps.
Saying “I Love You” While Asleep #
It’s different now in the small hours of the morning. Quieter. There’s no music when I wake up next to you in bed. Well, no music but the sound of your breath.
As I come to, it hits me yet again that you’re here with me. Still here with me. After everything that has happened.
I just saw you in a dream, you know. A different version of you. A crueler one who doesn’t listen to me or understand the way that you do. What some primordial corner of my brain worries that you are — or will turn into — if I completely let my guard down.
The real you is lying there half-asleep. And when I return from the bathroom, the real you turns over to face me and says, “I love you,” without ever opening your eyes.
I don’t know if you’re asleep or awake, but I believe you. I believe that you love me.
You tell me that I say it to you, too, when I’m asleep. “I love you.”
There’s a subtle tending towards each other that’s always there. Even when we aren’t awake.
I’m Looking for Love Stories So Small You’d Miss Them If You Blinked #
I used to think that real love was all or nothing. Dramatic. Steeped in conflict.
But those days are over.
These days I’m not looking for drama. I’m looking for love stories so small you’d miss them if you blinked.