To me...

My sweet girl,

Come a little closer… there’s no rush. Rest your head against my chest and stay here with me for a while. Can you feel it? This is a place where you can finally rest.

I know… I know how hard you tried to be brave when everything inside you just wanted to be held. I know how you smiled when you felt like crying, how you acted strong when, deep down, you were just a little girl needing tenderness.

You don’t have to pretend anymore.

I’m here.

Right here.

If you look closely, you’ll find me — in the way you love, in your gentleness, in that deep longing to care. I grew up… but I never left you. I just took the time to learn how to come back.

And now that I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.

About our parents… I know some questions were never answered, hugs that never came, words you needed but didn’t hear. I know your little heart tried to understand things that were far too big.

But my love… they loved us the only way they knew how.

It wasn’t always soft. It wasn’t always beautiful. And it wasn’t always what you needed. But within them, in their own way, there was love. Imperfect, sometimes lost, sometimes rough… but still real within the limits of what they could give.

And now, we can set that struggle down.

We can stop waiting for the past to be different.

Gently, we can accept the love as it was… and give ourselves the love we have always deserved.

I will give it to you.

I promise.

Come here… let yourself fall into my arms. You can unravel, cry, shake, and say everything you kept quiet. I won’t pull away. I won’t be afraid. I will stay with you until your tears soften… until the weight begins to lift.

You don’t have to be strong all the time.

Here, with me, you can just be you. Fragile, soft, whole.

I will protect you now.

I will choose you, every single day.

And when the world outside feels too big, remember this: you always have somewhere to return to. This embrace. This home inside you, where you will never be alone again.

Shhh… It’s okay.

I’m here.

Always.