Your heart stayed true

 Your heart stayed true.

From the very first day...

Until the very last gentle breath.

You never asked for a perfect life.

You never counted the mistakes I made.

You never cared if I came home tired, overwhelmed, or carrying the weight of the world.

You only cared that I came home.

That was enough for you.

The sound of my footsteps was your favorite song.

The turn of the doorknob was all the reason you needed to celebrate.

You loved with a kind of honesty that this world doesn't see nearly enough.

There were no conditions.

No score to keep.

No old arguments to remember.

Yesterday was always forgiven.

Tomorrow was always full of hope.

And today...

Today was another chance to be together.

I think that's why losing you feels so impossible.

Because a heart as faithful as yours doesn't seem like it should ever stop beating.

Even now, I catch myself smiling at the smallest memories.

The way you'd tilt your head when I spoke your name.

The happy little circles you'd make before settling into your bed.

The way your eyes followed me from one room to another, not because you needed anything...

But because wherever I was felt like home to you.

Sometimes I wonder if I deserved a love that pure.

Then I remember...

You never asked me to deserve it.

You simply gave it.

Freely.

Completely.

Every single day.

When your body grew tired, your heart never did.

Even on the hardest days...

When standing took courage...

When walking became slow...

Your tail still tried to wag when you saw me.

As if your heart was whispering,

"I'm still here... and I still choose you."

I believe that love doesn't disappear with a final heartbeat.

A love as loyal as yours couldn't possibly end that way.

It simply crossed into a place where pain could no longer follow.

Now I picture you racing through endless green meadows beneath the Rainbow Bridge.

Your steps are light again.

Your eyes sparkle the way they did when you were young.

The wind carries your ears as you run without effort, without fear, without ever needing to stop.

And somehow...

I know your heart is still doing exactly what it has always done.

Looking for me.

Waiting for me.

Loving me.

One day, I'll call your name again.

Not into silence...

But into the open air where you'll hear it.

You'll turn with that same joyful expression.

You'll run toward me with every ounce of happiness your beautiful heart can hold.

And I'll finally understand what I have believed all along.

Your body had to leave.

But your heart never did.

It stayed true.

It stayed with me.

And it always will.