SHINING BRIGHT

It was a curious mix of feelings. She felt comfortable enough around him, but at the same time timid in a way that she couldn't explain – nor control, as the smile would just keep coming to the surface. "Maybe that was how the 'butterflies in the stomach' sort of thing used to be", she thought. It had been such a long time since anyone made her feel anything that she just forgot how it was. He put his arm around her, and being that close made her notice for the first time that his eyes were like blue diamonds. The sunlight reflected on them, and she wondered if he knew that the sun wasn't the only thing shining bright that day.

STORYTELLER

He was the most genuine person she had met in a while. Sure they had a lot in common, but that usually wasn't too hard to find... Someone real though, that it was. He had a good sense of humour, wasn't afraid of being open about things, but also seemed shy at times, taking a sip of his pint to hide a nervous smile - what she thought it was cute. Even though there is always a bit of awkwardness on first dates, talking to him was effortless enough, and for a moment she even forgot they were at a pub, for being too immersed in what he was saying. As she walked home, she thought about how good a storyteller he was, and that, maybe, just maybe, a new character was being added to her own tale.

TOO MUCH

It is common to feel that we are not enough. Very often we feel the need to be more, to be greater, to live up to someone's expectations. But with you, strangely, I felt like I was too much. What I considered my strengths before, suddenly became my flaws. Like a volcano that was forced to sleep because you couldn't deal with my eruption, I had to try to be smaller to fit into your world. I felt like I was too strong for you, because you were trembling. My walk felt like running, because you couldn't keep up. Worried that my laugh was too loud for you, I ignored that I was losing my will to smile. You wished for a river and didn't notice I was the ocean. You wanted a star and didn't see I was a full moon. Looking back, I realised that the moments you made me feel high were only because you had me too low, and now I can finally see... that losing you was what I needed in order to find me.