When she knew one thing about him, it was that he was not just a strong man,
But perhaps the strongest man she’d ever known.
She saw past the tough exterior and rugged facade..she saw a beautiful and vulnerable soul that longed for expression.
He’d been told all his life that men had to be hard, be tough and that vulnerability was a weakness.
Looking at him lovingly, she took his hand in hers and found his eyes with hers.
Her
voice, very soft and soothing, seemed to be the one thing that could melt his defenses.
“My dearest man, you are the strongest person I’ve ever met but...there is another way.”
His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her, perplexed and curious.
She smiled warmly.
“I see you..even the parts you hide from everyone else. I know there’s a side of you that longs to be free. A gentler, more vulnerable part of your soul. In fact, that’s the part of you that’s most beautiful of all.”
She could tell he knew her words rang true, but that he’d never had the chance to fully embrace all of himself.
He was known for his strength, his courage and his ability to overcome anything.
But for all his ferocity, he’d never found someone to love him for everything he was..and all that he wanted to be.
Pressing her forehead softly to his, eyes fluttering, she kissed him gently and saw the battle raging in his eyes.
Her voice, barely a whisper, soothed his fiery debate.
“My love, the strongest of us aren’t those who live and die by the sword, but those who are able to be the beautiful balance of strong and sensitive.
You don’t have to sacrifice anything about who you are to become who you’re meant to be..except to realize your happiness is more important than anyone else’s perception.”
Tears steamed down his face as she wiped them lovingly away with her warmest smile.
She had found a survivor and seen what none of the others ever glimpsed in his soul.
She loved him for not just who he was, but everything she knew he wanted to be.
Unconditionally without judgement, she was his safe place in a harsh world.
He could finally become the man he’d always tucked away, hiding and hopeful that one day, he could embrace who he truly was, instead of what he had always been told he should be.
On that fateful winter day, he discovered the love he’d waited his entire life to find in her.
In all his travels, for all that he had done and seen, she was the one thing he’d never experienced: true love.
For all the places he’d seen, there was nothing that would ever compare to what he found in her heart, in her arms.
Home.
