My family was a mess in my home country and my siblings were doing heavy lifting without me. Also, despite the strong love between us we had language issues and I was slowly retreating into my own head abroad.

(imagine: if every ounce of wit or humour you had, fell on deaf ears, or had to be explained, or said less elegantly. A piece of you dies every time.)

I think I would have resented her if we started a family, as I likely would have gone into full autopilot. I wish I was born there, or that she was born here. We really could have been happy if it weren’t for the communication barrier. She still means the world to me, and I just want her to be happy.