“Remember me as I once was. As I was with you. Remember my laughter and uncontained excitement for the coming winter, finally to see snow for the first time. Remember me telling you how your callouses and rosy cheeks just made you more perfect for me. Remember me as the girl who embraced you from behind, someone who stole your breath away with just a couple of kisses. The girl who showed you what intimacy could be like. Remember the feel of my skin brushing lightly against yours, the heat and excitement rushing through one another, having to stop and catch our breaths. Remember the way my ribs felt underneath your hands, slowly, and nervously moving, but never going too far. Remember me as the girl who ran into the sunset racing to reach an invisible finish line. Remember the kicking pine cones all the way to your front door. Remember the endless hand holding, movie watching, laughter, games played and happiness we gave one another. Remember the winding backroads taken, the beautiful views you showed me for the first time. Remember you showing me around your small town, driving to the gas station and playing our favorite songs and singing off tune on our way back.

Don’t remember me as the girl who broke your heart twice. Each time a whisper of cold wind against your cheek as a goodbye. Don’t think about how we barely made it to May, how we never got to see that snow. Don’t remember the ignored messages, the silence that I let fill the space between us days on end. Don’t remember me as the girl who stumbled into different men’s lives only months later, confused as ever. Don’t remember the Sundays I didn’t show up. Don’t you dare dwell on the words that should’ve been said. Don’t remember me as the one who promised you forever only to start a family with someone completely different. Because I never wanted to hurt you no matter what it seemed. Just please, try and remember us laughing excitingly with one another in the sun talking about our future together and aspirations.”