"I said I would be back. Don't be lonely. You are welcome back home wherever you are."
- G-Dragon, Daesung, Taeyang Comeback
I never left. I must have made a promise that is hazy now, but in the window, there is
a flower petal behind me somewhere. A 4-foot tree is there now.
Like all the great returns there ever was, I never let you go. I looked back, perhaps not enough, but I did look back.
I will never let you go. Even if it gets harder, even if the bureaucracy sweeps away our efforts or the house gods want us to run around a bit more.
Even if we never find peace
and die empty of what we wanted in life, I will never let you go.
Take a petal off my flower. Stand on this hill with me. Our 4-ft tree will be great one day.
The petal looks small in your hand. The flower looks big in mine. There are great places beyond our corner of the world. Yes, I have seen. Yes, I long to return to some.
But this hill is our haven, when it's you and me and whatever else the birds can see. The vultures can have us after this.
Don't be lonely. Don't hide away. I am here after all. My arms can wrap around you.
I am hungry too. I am full of places I could belong in. You are full of places you've wished forever to see but couldn't. The one you lived with kept burning your garden.
Our knees are only good for so long to see it all, beyond this new attempt of a local garden.
Even if it's been just this hill, you have grown many a flower. I simply picked one up.
While tending your garden, did you ever wonder if I would ever come back?
You know me too well. You probably knew I'd be back.
I am sorry for leaving the first time and the time after that.
The world is sweet. The world is lovely. We are not as small as we believed. I've never held a hand as strong, as tough, sturdy, and lovely as yours.
I would never let you go.
