Dear River

[OblivionWalker 246]

Dear River,

 

It seems like time has been getting the best of both of us right now but we're in the thick of the season at the moment and doing our best to play hard and help our teams. But that doesn't mean I don't think about you a lot.

 

I really miss you. Sometimes when I'm out on the ice, I could almost swear I can see you out of the corner of my eye as I'm winding up for a slapshot or hear you snickering over a joke someone made. But I suppose that just means that everything good to me is woven through with you somehow. 

 

Hockey has always been my focus, the one thing that made me light up. Even when I was little, my family wondered if there was something that would draw me from my tight little shell of books and math and being content on my own. Hockey did that in part, sure, but these days? I smile a lot more knowing that I have you as a part of my life in a way that I never dreamed I would.

 

I know we haven't really talked about it but at some point, it would be nice to let the rest of the world know that the dashing and tenacious River Harrington is mine. But we can discuss that the next time we see each other in person (which will be in five games from now, not that I've been counting that down or anything). Obviously, we would need to decide what we want to say and how we want to say it but as with most things, I'm pretty confident that we can come to some kind of agreement and if I need to throw in some varynyky to sweeten the deal, I'm not above using my baba's dumplings to aid in convincing you.

 

Five games aren't long, but it also feels like a lifetime. But I think this is a good test for us for how things might play out in the E and the VHL proper. As much as I would love to play with you again, I don't know if our careers are putting us on parallel paths. We're going to have to wait and see how all of that plays out.

 

But no matter where you are in the world? You're always going to be the one on my mind. I haven't had a chance to tell you this myself, but I will as soon as I see you and I'm going to say it in Ukrainian first: Я тебе кохаю. In case you were wondering what that means, it's "I love you", which I do. I'm not sure when I knew that or how, but that's the only thing I can think when it comes to you. You've been a part of my life for a long time, and I can't even fathom a time or a place where that wouldn't be true. I love you, River Harrington and I'm always going to.

 

Yours always,

Slava

 

(word count: 511 words)

 

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@kirbithan