WXY 7

¹“Dad, what is love?” ²“Oh, love. ³There is nothing quite like it.” ⁴“But what is it? ⁵Is it beauty, joy, desire, or respect?” ⁶“No, not quite, I don’t think. ⁷There is love in those things, I’m sure. ⁸But the nature of love is not so clear to me, and I have spent my whole life trying to understand it. ⁹To me, love is a connection. ¹⁰It is like water, we need it to survive, and if we do not have it, we will seek it, fight for it, and do whatever it takes to find it. ¹¹But you can only receive in love what you give, because love goes both ways, always, for love is a connection, between life and death, or between your soul and the stars.” ¹²“But sometimes I feel that love hides from me. ¹³It’s like I can hear it around the corner, and I swear I have even caught up to it and caught a glimpse of its ghost, but I have never truly grasped it.” ¹⁴“I know it can be hard, my child, believe me. ¹⁵The wonders of this universe are undeniably magnificent, but they are too vast. ¹⁶But that’s the beauty of it, in a way, because love does not end.” ¹⁷“But how should I even begin to understand it, dad?” ¹⁸“I wish I could give you an easy answer, my child, I really do, but I fear that love is greater than what could ever be described. ¹⁹I know the universe can be cold, and death is relentless. ²⁰But just as love is a feeling, it is an action. ²¹And even though love can be tragic and desperate and fleeting, there is nothing greater than love, because love is why we are here, me and you. ²²So please, my child, do everything in love.” ²³“But I feel lonely sometimes, dad. ²⁴And I’m grateful to have you, I really am, but what about after you’re gone?” ²⁵“It’s okay, my child. ²⁶I know that love is not easy, and love is not fair, either. ²⁷But you are strong, stronger than you could ever imagine. ²⁸There is pain and struggle and suffering in this world, I know. ²⁹There will always be pain and struggle, so much of it, and I’m sorry. ³⁰But don’t worry, my child, because I love you. ³¹And it is not just me saying this, the universe is talking to you, my child, because you must remember, although we are in this universe, so too is the universe in us. ³²And the universe said I love you, too. ³³And please, my child, do not forget that, even after I’m long gone.”