Like Melt-In-Your-Mouth Caramels With a Hint of…

You know that feeling you get when you see a cute guy across the room? The one you get when you lock eyes for that one moment before looking away shyly while attempting to steal a glance—but only to notice him still watching from afar? It’s a cross between getting jittery from the butterflies and feeling your insides melt; warm, buttery, caramel-y goodness, a taste you can’t get enough of. It envelops you in comfort. Like the caramel-covered apples from childhood, $2 of pure happiness from a stand at a small-town fair.

This time, however, it’s grown-up; none of that puppy-love nonsense. It’s the real deal. This is the melt-in-your-mouth salted caramels—with a hint of toffee—from a boutique candy shop. Sweet (because it’s good feeling) and salty (because it’s new). New is tangy. Sharp. Unmarked territory.

Now for the record, I don’t care for caramel. I prefer something more rich, more gourmand.

I’d also rather not have my insides turn into some sticky, gooey mess. Hot messes are reserved for weekends anyhow, and the Wicked Witch of the West has probably had the melting situation trademarked. It’s amusing, this human fixation with analogies; I wonder who came up with the whole love-at-first-sight and chocolate comparison (though the salted caramel is all mine)…

We too often over-think. We analyze, compare and contrast with what we think something should feel like or should be. Emotions are complex, yes, but never complicated; our imagination is to blame for that. To overcomplicate is to lose the very essence of the moment and strip away the beauty of simplicity. To label—to define with physical words—is to diminish its wholesomeness. Feelings were neither meant to be rationalized nor romanticized. Whatever you feel right here—right now—is a beautiful and unique thing in it of itself.

That’s all.

And love is love. Different forms exist, but at its nakedest form, love is love. Wait to see if you feel the butterflies (that might be motion sickness, dear), or to taste that warm, melt-in-your-mouth sweetness, and you’ll be waiting forever.

Trust your heart. Forget the wistful writers. You’ll know when you know. When that moment comes, toss aside those notions of chocolates, salted caramels and all other saccharine distractions, and just say it.

Say it.

I love you.

That’s all.

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