Anyone who told you that your smile was like sunshine had clearly never taken a good look at the sun. Rather, I'd say your smile is like dappled sunlight on a hammock or a drizzle of honey. It's sweet.

Inviting.

And I can't look away.

You always said your eyes were different colors and I never believed you. Of course, I never got to look too closely as I was afraid that while I was taking it all in you'd see everything I've desperately been trying to hide. But yesterday in the coffee shop the light hit your eyes just right. One lit up like a blue-green lagoon and the other glowed the same color as the crystal you left on my windowsill.

You always said your hands looked dumb in your videos and rerecorded them until they were up to your standards, but I loved the first take. I imagined your hands tousling my hair in the morning or touching my cheek after a long day, pouring yourself the last cup of tea from the pot or sewing yet another flower onto your already crowded jeans.

Everything you are and everything you do is special. Don't ever forget that.

I'm proud of you, for discovering yourself and for knowing you needed to leave me behind in order to grow.

I love you.