Do We Really Know Love?

"Why do you even love me?", he asked her.

The tears running down her face was evident that he had hurt her again.

And yet her palm which she had placed on his arm made it evident that she would not give up on their love yet again.

He had built a wall around him. He did this whenever life knocked him down on his face. He had always found it hard to share his pain. Being utterly vulnerable in front of another human scared him. He felt that it would reveal those scars within him which would repel them from him forever. To put on a mask of joy and strength felt far easier than falling to the level of a vulnerable broken being. But somehow she always found out. She could always figure out his pain and she could always see through his mask. His soul seemed like a transparent painting to his lover and for reasons he could not comprehend she still loved what she saw.

Sometimes he sincerely wished that she would let their love go. But within him he also knew that he wouldn't be able to see her take that step out of their apartment never to return.

Looking at him with that childlike eyes of hers she said , "I love you. Period. We are humans. We make mistakes. And we evolve from them. But sometimes this evolution is only possible when our mistakes are given the space to be made. And as your lover , it is my duty to make this space for you when you fail to do it for yourself. I am not going to leave you even when you are willing to leave your own heart. This is something that I owe to all the bountiful joy and acceptance and blessing that you have showered on me. If I am to walk this journey of love with you then let me be your companion at all times. Both the good and the bad. You trusted me with your heart once. Remember this"

He looked at her as though he were seeing her for the first time. It was as if he had not comprehended the true meaning of her presence until then. She had stood by him at all times. He had done the same but somehow it felt that while he had done this unconsciously , she had given her entire self for him.

Did he deserve this?

This form of life which was unconditional.This form of love which defied the inner boundaries.This form of undemanding love which he was not able to give himself.Maybe this is what is love.He realised.

The one thing that stays when everything else leaves.

The one thing that holds even when the risk of it slipping through the fingers is apparent.The one thing that listens even when the entire universe turns a deaf ear.The one thing that sees the soul for what it is with all its glory and brutality and yet embraces it all with unconditional equanimity.

He still was not sure if he deserved this but what he did know was that without this love he would never know what it means to be a human.

Placing his palm over hers , he moved closer to her. And he let himself break down in her arms.

He would have looked like a mess to any other human but to her she was like that child she was ready to hold within the womb of her love.

Cradling him and running her fingers through her hair, she whispered, "I love you. Period".