The little girl who never stopped waiting

She was just a little girl
who saw too much cruelty, too soon.
A childhood she never got to enjoy,
a world that never felt quite safe,
and a heart that learned to survive
before it ever learned to feel loved.
She dreamed of a prince,
someone who would come and save her,
take her away from all the hurt
and show her what love was supposed to feel like.
But no prince ever came.
So she grew up searching,
choosing men who were never quite available,
mistaking distance for something worth chasing,
always hoping that if she loved hard enough,
someone would finally choose her.
Then, somewhere in the middle of her life,
someone unexpected appeared.
Someone with familiar scars,
a similar past, and a way of understanding
the things she had never quite known how to explain.
For once, she didn't feel different.
Didn't feel broken for her doubts,
or complicated because of her past.
She simply felt understood.
And perhaps that was the most beautiful thing of all:
finding someone who recognised the little girl
she had spent a lifetime trying to protect.
But with that feeling came a fear
she had never quite known before.
Because after a lifetime of learning to survive without anyone,
she had finally found someone
she couldn't bear the thought of losing.
She no longer needs a prince to save her.
She has learned to save herself.
But deep inside,
that little girl is still wishing for one thing:
That this time, someone who understands her
will choose to stay.