i. recite their name like it's your favorite poem, sing it like it's your favorite song. let it roll off your tongue and onto your bed; immerse yourself in their entire being until you know the rhythm of their heart better than your own.

ii. how your heart feels when you look at the night sky. how your heart feels when you're dancing alone, how your heart feels when you are Okay, when you are Safe - name that feeling after them.

iii. memorize the color of their eyes. memorize that color and then give in to the knot that forms in your stomach, the wave that comes over you, when you see it. give in to it - every time. soak in it, sink into it. hold your breath.

iv. lean into their touch. tattoo their fingerprints on your skin. let their love, their hurt - every single piece of them - stain you.

v. grow with them. plant yourself beside them and mimic the way they turn towards the sun. become entangled in them; and don't flinch, don't flinch when they get tangled in you. wait for the day when you can't tell which roots are yours.

vi. wait until the day when you don't remember the pain. wait until you have forgotten what it means to be alone.