You stood up in front of everyone and told them the truth about your heart. Out loud. To a whole room.
I could never do that. I couldn't even say a poem in front of Mrs. Alvarez without my ears going hot. But there you were, in the shiny shoes, and your voice shook a little and you said it anyway.
I saw you dance. You are a terrible dancer. You always were. But you did it in the middle of the floor where everyone could see, and you laughed, and you didn't check first if anybody was laughing at you. I used to check every single time.
You cried in front of people. On purpose. You let them see.
I remember I decided one time that grown-ups were fakers who hid everything and smiled with their mouths only. I watched them at the boring parties and I promised I would never get like that.
You didn't get like that. Not today. Today you were the opposite of that, wide open, all your feelings just standing out in the light.
Can we stay like this? Not the cake and the flowers, I mean the part where you told the whole room the true thing and weren't even scared it would leave you.