Dear Aya,

It's crazy to think how far we've come since that day in ninth grade. Two hopeless romantic gay asses introduced by chance, tangled for a while in something that wasn't quite love, but something just as special. We may not have stayed where we started, but I'm glad where we ended up as the soulmates who just get each other in a way few people ever do. I really do believe we were destined to be tied together and have this strong bond.You have this wild kind of magic, you light up every room you're in and it fill it with laughter, warmth, and that one niche chronically online joke that always lands awkwardly to others but perfect to me. I love how your humor always finds a way to make bad days lighter, how your compassion never runs out even when the world feels too heavy, and how your understanding feels like a safe place I can always return to, you always knew the right words to say and how to comfort me. I can say for myself that ever since I met you my life became brighter, we never ran out of topics and always found something to laugh at like hyenas.

IT'S HELLA UNFORTUNATE I TRANSFERRED SCHOOLS, from asking if you're free today to asking when are we even gona see eachother, it's a drastic transition to not see your favorite person on the daily but I always long to see you. I miss you everyday no one understands my joke, I miss you everytime I hear your favorite artists, I miss you everytime I see apples and hell even Pompompurin (I still try my best to find anything Pompompurin these days, these performative Purin fans are hoarding them lowkey).

I'm so grateful that you came into my life, I'm not very religious but God really did bless me with such an amazing girl like you and it's rare to see someone who you are so sure that you'd grow old with them. I hope life gives back a little of the love you scatter so freely. May you find mornings that feel gentle, people who see your worth clearly,and moments that remind you how deeply you are cared for. Even if life brings you down many times you can always run to me and I'll be your forever fan, your fortress, your little jester that sends you the most random voice messages of me coughing, and most of all your soulmate.But beyond the candles and wishes, I want you to remember this. If ever the days are heavy, laughter falters, or light feels dim,know that I'm still here. Maybe not always beside you, but always for you. Ready with an earth shattering horrible joke, a patient ear,and every reassurance you might need, you are never alone in this.

Happy birthday my beloved, you deserve so much poems, peace, love, and people who stay and I promise I will always be one of them. I'll be there to remind you that even on the days you doubt yourself, you are still brilliant, still kind, still enough. To listen when you need silence,to laugh when you need light, and to hold space for you in every version of who you become. So consider this my promise, whatever time steals, whatever distance tries to dim you'll never lose the place you have with me. Here's to your warmth, your love, your beauty. Here's to more inside jokes, late-night talks, bebetime, gooning sessions, and all the days we haven't lived yet. I'm so grateful our paths crossed and even more grateful they never untangled.I love you so much, Ayatots.