You Are Her

When I was in high school I had a teacher whom I greatly respected, for he was the wisest of men. Short, balding, and with a neatly trimmed beard that he used to stroke whenever he pondered some difficult question, he resembled Socrates -- a modern day sage.

One day in class the discussion turned to the subject of marriage, specifically true love and whether or not there is such a thing as soul mates. A fellow student asked this teacher his opinion on the matter and he responded with a slight chuckle.

"Soul mates...there is no such thing as soul mates. Never be fooled into believing that there is only one woman out there for you to marry. There are plenty of women who can make you happy."

As someone who was thrice divorced, he clearly subscribed to the belief that the concept of soul mates is merely a myth, that instead there are several people out there who can make us happy...and maybe that's true. Maybe there really are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of potential mates that we meet throughout our lives who we could grow to love, marry, and even be happy with for the remainder of our days. Maybe simply being satisfied with finding someone to share a few laughs with who provides unwavering companionship is how most people unwittingly define love, and maybe for them that is enough...but it is not enough for me.

I knew that day in high school as I listened to the wisest man I have ever known pontificate on love and soul mates that he was wrong...completely and utterly wrong. I knew then, just as I do now, that although there are many people in this world who can make us happy, there is only one person who can touch that deepest and most intimate part of your heart, the place where a love that defies description or understanding resides. 

Ornela, on our first night together at Harvard when we sat across from each other holding hands, I told you something very dear to me. It was a simple phrase, probably something you overlooked and thought nothing of. But I have waited my entire life to say the words I spoke to you that night...three words that I have never told any woman before. I looked into your eyes and said: You are her.

These words...these three words encompass everything I feel for you. All my devotion, all my respect, all my love for you is encapsulated in this simple phrase.

You are her...the woman I have spent my whole life searching for. 

You are her...the woman I want to give myself to. 

You are her...the woman I have fallen in love with.

You are her Ornela...and I just want to love you. I have tried so hard, harder than any endeavor I have ever undertaken, to show you how deeply I love you. Over the past ten months I have written you nearly forty letters and stories that reveal not only my love for you, but also the most intimate parts of my heart as well. I have tried to put into words a feeling that is in my heart, a very special feeling that I have never experienced before. This feeling, this love that I have for you comes from the deepest part of my heart, the most intimate part where I stand naked and exposed, the part I want to share with only one person in this entire world -- you. 

You and I are not like most people Ornela...yet somehow we found each other. Against all odds, our paths intertwined to bring us together. We are two very unique souls who have found the rarest and most beautiful of gifts with each other: love. 

Ornela...I have no words to describe the depth of my love for you. You are everything that is beautiful. You are my soul mate. You are her.