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“I still remember the first time that I saw you. It was in the second grade during recess, and you were wearing a yellow dress with ladybug hair ties for your blond curly pigtails. That day, you were in the sandbox, making sandcastles with a red bucket. You were so adorable that I immediately wanted you to notice me. That’s why I tried to steal your red bucket (sorry, not sorry), and after that, you were mad at me for the rest of our elementary school. We were so dumb and naïve back then. I miss it, you know.”
“I was given a second chance to gain your attention in Miss Grant’s class in fifth grade. I was assigned next to you in the back row. I would occasionally glance at you, only to snap my head away whenever you looked over at me. Miss Grant always yelled at me for not paying enough attention, but I never minded that.”
“Throughout all of middle school, I was subconsciously drawn to you and everything about you. I was drawn to your beauty because you were perfect inside and out, your sunny smile, your vanilla scent, your kindness, and your compassion. You amazed me and I was completely entranced by you.”
“I even went for English Literature class for you. Even though English was easy enough, it wasn’t my strongest ability suit, but I couldn’t help myself. I just wanted to be near you. You loved English, so I started loving it too. Every time you walked through the row and sat in front of me, my heart wouldn’t calm itself. It was so happy to have you so close.”
“When the eighth-grade talent show came around, I just wanted to impress you. I had decided to do a comedy act, something to make you laugh. God, your laugh always filled me with light and happiness. I was all set to perform it for the first time until about a week before the show when you came up to me baling your eyes out. Your partner, James, had just bailed on your dance routine, and you had no one to perform with you. Instantly, I agreed to be your partner, how could I not, and learned the routine you spent a month perfecting in one week. I’m pretty sure I was the only eighth-grader in the world who learned how to dance in a week. We didn’t win any prizes, but it didn’t even matter. I was just so happy to dance with you, to hold your soft hand in mine. After the show, I told you my comedy routine, and you laughed so hard. I just stood there with you, enjoying every minute we spent together. I loved seeing you smile.”
“Then, we reached high school. We were always good friends, but I always craved more than that. I doubt you even remember this, but I dropped my pencil back in English class in senior year. You reached over, and when you handed it back to me, our hands touched for just a second. My face immediately turned red, and I turned away. That was the moment I realized I was in love with you. I was always in love with you. From the first moment, I saw you in the sandbox. Yeah, kind of late there, I know. I was never really good with my feelings, but you made me want to be better.”
“From there, I knew I had to tell you how I felt before the graduation. I was afraid that it was going to be too late and I would lose you for good. And that thought alone, that I would never get to see you again, made me want to scream in desperation. With the help of Sam, I had created the biggest, most dramatic way to ask you out on a date.”
“Here was the plan. I was supposed to give a speech at the graduation ceremony because I was one of the brightest students, as well as you were. During the speech, I planned to give a whole lecture about how high school always made me anxious and miserable, but you made it worth it. Then, I would ask you out in front of everyone, and then the marching band was going to start playing when you said yes. I was so sure that my plan would work, and you were going to say yes. But you didn’t.”
“I did say yes. The day before graduation, you asked me out, and my jaw just dropped to the floor. I was in awe that you liked me back and asked me on a date with a shy smile on your lips and the cute way you were fidgeting with your glasses, which made you even more attractive. I was in so much shock that I just stood there for five minutes with my mouth gaped open. But you stuck around and waited patiently for my answer, which was, of course, a big yes that I screamed at your face. That’s when we started dating.”
“Unfortunately, we had applied to different colleges. You went to university in Metropolis and wanted to become a reporter, and I was going to MIT. However, we tried to make the long-distance work. I wanted so desperately for us to work. We visited each other on weekends and called almost every day. I would write you love letters and mail them for that “traditional” feeling of love. You would mail back a copy with big smiley faces over everything you loved about the letter (there were a lot of smiley faces). You always kept the originals. Your roommate was noisy, so you hide them in a birch jewelry box I gave you for your birthday. You kept that box and those love letters for the rest of your life. And I kept the smiley faces ones.”
“Sophomore year of college rolled around and I couldn’t stand not being with you. The distance killed me. As a surprise, I transferred to your college in September, but you weren’t there. Instead, you had transferred to my college as a surprise too. We both got a good laugh out of that one and your sister called us “those useless gays” for a long time. After that, we decided on a new National City University that was perfect for both of us.”
“We were together living our best lives. Senior year eventually came and went. It was time for graduation. We were together for four years, and I had decided to ask you to marry me because I loved you so much and couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I made a reservation on a rooftop of your favorite restaurant in town and would do things the traditional way. I bought you a perfect ring, and when the day after graduation came, we went on a date. We talked, laughed, and had such a good time, though we always had when we were together. We talked about college, and then you started talking about me. You were ecstatic when I joined English Literature class, and you always made sure to sit beside me. You even told me that the story about your dance partner leaving you was faked because you just wanted to perform in the talent show with me. Next, in high school, you purposefully touched your hand to mine. You wanted me to notice you and thought I was as dense as a brick. That's why you decided to be the one to ask me out. We laughed about how oblivious we were about our feelings for each other. And then it was time to propose. The soft music began to play, and I went down on one knee. When I finished my speech, you had tears in your beautiful blue eyes that I loved so much. And, of course, your answer was yes.”
“We got married the following summer. A July wedding, as you had always wanted. We both found jobs in our respective professions that we loved. I loved how easily we settled into this world together, finding out places by each other’s side.”
“Finally, you convinced me to adopt a dog. I didn’t even have a chance against your pout in the first place, did I? Even though I was complaining, this dog, named Krypto, filled my heart with joy. I loved little moments with you. For example, to do the shopping for our dog, especially when you started adorably rambling to every shop assistant about our “kid”. We grew and got wiser together. We always had a harmonious dynamic in which we understood each other even without words, like a symbiotic relationship between flowers and bees. I needed your very presence for survival, and you told me you needed mine.”
“You always told me you loved me more than anything in the universe. And I loved you. I tried to show you how much you mean to me, how much you’ve changed my very being on every possible occasion. I hope I succeeded.”
“There was nothing special about our love. There are over six thousand weddings every day in the USA alone with people who love each other as we do. But what made this whole thing special were you, Kara Luthor-Danvers.”
“Even now, staring at your grave, talking to this cold stone, I understand that nothing has changed. I still love you. I will always love you until my last breath and beyond. You are my one and only, Kara.”
Lena stood up, wiping away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She bent over and kissed the lifeless stone. “I’ll see you again next Sunday, my love.”
And she left, leaving a fresh bouquet of plumerias on the grave of the love of her life.