Things I didn't know I loved

It's Valentine's Day. Don't be harsh.

Go love something.

1. I didn't know I loved the feel of crisp, smooth paper against my fingertips.

When I want to scream, I can’t because the language seems incomprehensible to my mouth, and my tongue is drier than a desert. I find refuge on cool, almost brutally cold paper but what can I say… it's home. It is the home I always come back to, no matter how lost I get or how far I run. It is love, right? It has to be.

2. I didn't know I loved looking into someone's eyes when they smile.

You have to know that sparkle, right? When they smile, it is almost like their eyes give away the pretence, and the lines next to their eyes are the white flag of surrender. To take off the armour and unclench those palms. Serene.

3. I didn't know I loved the feeling you get when you hug someone you love after a while.

Hugs are amazing, scientifically proven so. A hug after a long time is almost like a reassurance that your loved ones aren’t leaving you behind. Maybe time and space aren’t true, and maybe stars aren’t twinkling because of the atmosphere, but they are winking. It's just magic and magic it shall be.

4. I didn't know I loved the smell of new books almost as old ones.

The smell of old books resembles the smell of opening a room that’s not been opened in many days. A familiar room. A familiar smell. A faint smell of nostalgia. A new book, on the other hand, smells like escape and possibilities. Each one is starkly different, but they are both precious.

5. I didn't know I loved the hidden corners of this obscure city.

There are the prided tourist hubs and the local hangout spots in every city, but if you look close, and you must look close, you might just stumble across a nook that can be yours. It doesn’t have to be just yours, but you know the spot when you see it. Because you will see something that no one else saw or maybe they did but they didn’t see it. I love those corners. I love your corners, too, because I know your eyes will sparkle when you talk about them.

6. I didn’t know how much I loved butterflies.

I have always loved butterflies. They represent every bit of beauty in life and they are as precious as can. but, I didn’t know that the butterflies that perch on the flowers outside my window were so similar to the ones that I get when I’m around them. The way their wings flutter like my heart skipping a beat.

7. I didn’t know I loved objects shaped like other objects.

Just think about it, more than just the whimsical factor of a planter shaped like a pineapple. There is hope. This is hope. It's fun to be different things and different people every now and again, maybe just for a night. Perhaps just for a fortnight. But, you can be anything or anyone you want to and it is fun and whimsical, and we all need reminders like that sometimes.

8. I didn't know I loved the idea of love.

On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I'm the only one, and I walk alone

And I dare to love the idea of love. Even the pain that comes with loving and the burden that comes with being loved.

P.S. I am bad at writing about love, emotions and about loved ones.