I say, “it’s nice to meet you,” and before I know it, we’re talking about the stars and naming ours and you’re my first and last thought of the day, just a text away, and I love you I love you I love you.

You say, “this is who I am,” and I call it beautiful, because you are; but we all have ugliness lurking inside of us. Yours tries to kill you from the outside in, tries to cut at your skin. I think our ugliness looks a lot alike. I think I know you a lot better than you’re willing to admit. You try to keep your mouth shut.

We say, “the universe looks a lot like a service station.” What we mean is that sometimes when we’re tired, we like to stop between the constellations and catch our breath for a moment. What we mean is that sometimes the constant journeying in this world can become unbearable. What we mean is that even people like us — red-eyed and sleep-deprived, making it through these battles with barely a scratch — need a break from this life sometimes.