I hurt you. I was not fair to you. I let you down and I did not think twice. Did I mean it? Was it intentional? Did I want to cause you all that hurt?

If I tried to answer these questions, I’m afraid my answers might be lies. Maybe I did mean it. Maybe deep in my heart I wanted to hurt you. I guess I will never know for sure. What is for sure, though, is what I felt after.

I remember the disappointment in myself; the anger against myself as I saw the wound I had caused on you. You avoided me. You did not even stop to say hi. That silence was the loudest noise I heard.

I asked you to forgive me. I wanted you to forgive me for the pain I had caused. You were silent for a while, not sure you wanted to hurt more. I gave you that space that your silence asked for.

Then one day, you weren’t so silent. You forgave me. You said that the friendship we had before was stronger than any word I said. You said that you loved me and that love is what allowed you to forgive me. You forgave me even when I messed up. There was no way I deserved that forgiveness.

People called you a fool because I did not deserve that forgiveness. But you ignored them and loved me anyways. You sacrificed everything: your reputation, your friends, even perhaps your life for me. It was because of this that I now know what love is.

Love is forgiving the unforgivable. Love is forgiving even when it is not asked for. Love is forgiving and not hoping for anything in return. Love is forgiving even when you cannot promise you won’t have to forgive the same mistake again. Love is complicated and cannot be explained. But it is the purest and most amazing thing in this world that can be experienced or given.