They say you meet countless loves in life. If you haven’t met any of your loves yet, well, brace yourself because you will obviously be bound to meet upon the indeterminate, unpredictable dictates of time. And you will ineludibly meet your first, who may not really be first, but he is who you consider to be your first- your first true love, the first one who steals your heart and keeps it, until the day he lets go of it- that happens in most cases, so I’m just letting you know how it usually ends; you don’t usually end with your first love. It’s sad, but it’s part of life. 

          If you have already met your first, it’s a fact; he is the first flower to bloom after cold, harsh winter nights. He is the flame that melts the shards of ice you surrounded your heart with- he is the embodiment of spring. He is the first ray of sunlight that journeyed across the cosmos just to kiss you the warmth of a brand new day, the one who breaks through the night you’ve shrouded yourself comfortably in. He is the primal daybreak after an endless series of nightfall. He is hope; the beginning of everything, the fresh and beautiful start. He is the introduction- the first word in a sentence, the first line in a story, the first verse in a song; the first “hello”, and the first “goodbye”. He is the beginning, and well, who doesn’t adore beginnings? You enjoy it so, because you look forward to the things to come.

          He is the White Knight who came straight from the stories you’ve heard from your sisters; the Prince Charming who popped out of that bedtime story you’ve read when you were a child- he pranced into your life on a white horse, and you feel like Snow White in the forest as you mindlessly utter his name in the dark; again and again as you savor it in your mouth, because you’ve never tasted something so good. The way he makes you feel is like a fantasy, so incredible and unbelievable- he touches you with hands as gentle as the breeze that blows through your hair, whispers your name the way he says his prayers at night, and holds you with arms as strong and tender as your father’s. And you love it, because it makes you feel loved, needed and wanted. Because it makes you feel safe, secure and protected. Safety- that’s the feeling that he evokes within you. You’ve been guarded all your life as a result of life’s cruelty, but you’ve tore down the walls you’ve built for him; because of him. He is the first man you’ve welcomed in to your safe haven. And the first man to burn it down and reduce it to ashes.

          He is your aborted mission; your failed attempt. As a result of that, he is also your best lesson. He showed you what love is and taught you all that there is to know about it. And he saw to it that he made you feel it in its depth and entirety, with certainty. As your first love, he is your benchmark by default. He is who you compare every other love with, and he is the trickiest test to take, the toughest one to beat. He was the man you shared every beginning with- the same man who experienced the first of many endings with you. He is long gone; his goodbye was expressed seemingly more than a million lifetimes ago. But he still lingers- he will always linger. No matter where you go- wherever life takes you, a part of your heart will always, always belong to him.

          Indeed, what they say is really true. First love never really dies because firsts are always to be remembered- the first smile, the first word, the first kiss, the first touch. And oftentimes, firsts are the most memorable of all. This is why, there’s no one like the first.