Memories

She was so loyal, she gave me all her love, not just what she had, but the extra. I swore she was the best, and she was, until today. I gave her a ring of metal, she gave me diamonds, not the cold kind, but the sort that outlast time. Still, I cry in my heart every single day. Sometimes tears escape, just remembering how sweet she was, how her voice curled around stories before I could even ask. She would talk and talk, while I sat smiling, drowning in her innocence, thinking..., "How is someone so beautiful and pure?" "Baby, na cika surutu ko?" as she always asked. And at midnight, her voice soft as worn cotton: "Baby, muje mu kwanta" Every morning, I called her asleep, "Baby, kira kayi ka hanani bacci ko?" (And believe me, she always answered.) A year and two months now, and I still miss her laughter, her playful scolds, the way she made the world feel light. I miss it all, even when my lips stay sealed, even when the days pretend to move on. But I pray, I believe, she's in a far better place, where the love she gave still shines, like the diamonds she left behind, the ones no hand can hold, only the heart.