How to Hold a Moment

Warning: Once you hold a moment, you cannot let go of it. No matter what the circumstances are, or how high the stakes are. Proceed with caution. 

Continue to proceed?

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Proceeding…

Step 1: Open Your Eyes

Look around you. See the sand underneath your feet? Feels soft? Good. Walk towards the sea. Look at the flamingo pink sky. The Sun is smiling at you. It knows what you’re doing. It knows it all. The water touches your feet and sends up a shiver up your spine. You turn around. You look at her. Brown hair, and hazelnut eyes. Her white sundress moves along the wind. She smiles at you. You smile back.

Step 2: Take A Deep Breath

You pick up the seashell, left by your feet. Even though it’s covered in sand, you can see it—white, with faint veins of gray curling like smoke. You turn it in your palm. It’s chipped at the edge, a little imperfect, but still beautiful. You hold it to your ear. No, not to hear the sea—everyone lies about that. You’re listening for something else. Something only this moment can tell you.

Step 3: Step Forward

Move against the currents, and the wind. Move against the time when you approach her. You hold out your hand. Show her the little seashell. She wonders if its for her. You say it is. She keeps it in her pocket. Music plays in a nearby cafe, and you offer her your arm. She whispers she doesn’t need it but takes it anyway. She swirls, and twirls. You match her grace. You put your arms around her waist, and pull her towards yourself.

Step 4: Don’t Fear

She looks at you in question, with an answer in disguise. The wind plays with the hem of her dress. Your hand finds hers, slowly, like it’s been waiting. You both lean in at the same time. No rush. No need. When you kiss her, it feels quiet. Like the world has paused—not to watch, but to let you be.

The fear slips away, unnoticed. All of it. The what-ifs, the almosts, the sharp edges. It doesn’t matter now. You’re here. With her. And she kissed you back.

Step 5: Close Your Eyes

Feel the air on your skin. Feel the water and the sand. Feel the touch of her on your lips. And the scent of her hair. It’s not just the physical, though. It’s everything in between—how her heartbeat matches yours, how time doesn’t seem to matter when you’re with her. 

And when you’re done feeling it all, wake up. 

The world will rush in, and the noise will come back. But for now, you’ve held it. You’ve kept it safe in the space between your breaths.

You’ll carry this memory with you. Every time the world feels too loud, you’ll come back to this quiet, this stillness.

Process Complete!

Congratulations! 

Now, you can never forget this moment. No matter what the circumstances are, or how high the stakes are.