I Should Have Thanked You When You Left

A love letter to the one who cracked something open.

I should have thanked you when you left.

Not for the apology. You never gave one.
Not for the promises. You broke most of them.
But for the way you split me open without asking, and showed me the places I was still willing to starve just to be loved.

You didn’t love me the way I wanted.
But you cracked something open.
You undid me.

There was a night—do you remember?
My back arched under your mouth. My hands in your hair.
You said my name like it was something ancient, something forbidden.

You drank me in.
And for moments, I believed you saw me.

But I see now - you saw the part of me that made you feel more alive.
Not the part that needed tending.

Still, I should have thanked you.

Because after you left, I stopped begging to be chosen.
I stopped shrinking my magic to make someone stay.

You taught me that even in the ache, even in the abandonment, I could find gold.

I kept the fire. You just lit it.

So this is my …