Too Late, Too Soon: Loving Someone at the Edge of Time

There’s something cruelly beautiful about meeting someone who feels like they were made for you… but the timing is all wrong. It’s not the cliché wrong time because of careers or distance. This time, it’s life and death literally.

I met him when I wasn’t looking for anything. I had already decided that love would have to wait that I needed to heal, focus, breathe. And then, there he was. Kind green eyes, soft voice, a laugh that warmed the coldest parts of me. The way we connected was instant and undeniable. No small talk just depth, like our souls skipped the introductions and remembered each other from a life before.

But just as quickly as we began to dream, reality hit hard

It feels unfair.

How do you fall for someone knowing there’s a timer ticking louder every day? How do you open your heart just to prepare for it to break? I catch myself watching him when he’s not looking, memorizing his face like I’ll need to paint it from memory one day. I listen closely to every story he tells, letting the sound of his voice tattoo itself into my mind.

I’ve asked myself if it’s selfish to keep loving someone when their heart is already fighting a battle. But then I realize, love is never a mistake. Even if it comes late. Even if it hurts. Maybe I wasn’t meant to have a forever with him. Maybe I was just meant to show up when he needed someone the most  and maybe he showed up when I did too.

Still, there’s this ache. Because I want more time. I want lazy Sundays and arguments over where to eat. I want his bad jokes and sleepy morning kisses. I want hospital visits to be part of old age, not our beginning. But this is our reality. This is our “now.”

So I love him anyway. Fiercely. Honestly. Without promises of forever, but with a promise of today.

Because sometimes, you meet the right person at the wrong time…

And you love them as hard as you can for however long you’re given.