It's the 19th of the month again and it means you have to learn this same sentence but in a different language.
You and your lover started this tradition when he was away for 7 months to work and do what he loves-- scuba diving. While he hesitated on leaving you, it's you who convinced him to do this now than later. You both knew you still have 77 years to spend together (if the math is right).
The 8-letter, 3 word-sentence in the English language isn't the same around the world. So dumb for you to think. They can be tongue-twisting, vodka-sounding, or as simple as one word, but they all mean one thing. These are the variations you learned together so far:
Volim te (Croatian)
ég elska þig (Icelandic)
aishiteru (Japanese)
nakupenda (Swahili)
Âsheghetam (Farsi)
ya lyublyu vas (Russian)
🤟 (Sign Language)
I see you (N'avi)
Mahal kita (Filipino)
Te quiero (Spanish)
And this month... Maite zaitut (Basque)
Recently, you just found out from an Iranian traveler that you've been saying the written (formal) Farsi version all this time. You and your lover were both mind-blown over "dustat dâram". You just also learned that the Russian variation above is too polite or "this may be used to express your feeling to several girls at a time". These Russians are onto something. You both also previously had to change the Japanese version cos the pronunciation was making your tongues form knots. You found the correct, conversational one in the process.
This tradition, no matter how small, lets you look forward to another month. Moreso to even more years, or decades together. For you, somehow your lover's halted dream of traveling around the world is being fulfilled. You're guilty. He stayed because his priorities had changed. For him, what would an adventure of a lifetime mean if you aren't there?
For you, this is his deepest 8 letters, 3 words.
Writer's Note:
