Loving someone

To me, loving someone isn't about knowing every single fact there is to know about them. It's about remembering the trivial things about their habits and character. It's about paying attention to the things that others barely even notice.

It's remembering which part of a chicken he likes best, how he likes his tea with two cubes of sugar and no milk, and how he furrows his eyebrows when he's annoyed by something, even if he denies it.

It's noticing that he always mumbles inaudibly to himself whenever he's driving and is unsure about the directions. It's knowing that he will always argue that he's right, but will still Google up your facts and try to understand where you're coming from.

It's knowing that he sleeps with a pillow that he's had since he was five, and that he always drinks a cup of water the first thing when he wakes up. It's realising that he tends to scrunch up his nose ever so slightly when he disapproves of something, and how he always licks his lips whenever he's fixated on a task.

It's remembering how he doesn't like to use his phone at the dining table, and how he loves helping his mother out with the groceries on the weekends. It's noticing how he purses his lips in uncomfortable situations and clenches his jaw when he tries not to say something out of anger.

It's knowing that he's upset when he says "Mhmm" rather than "Yes", that he needs some time to cool down before apologising for something, and that he doesn't like to be disturbed when he has work to do. It's noticing how he separates the food on his plate, how he taps his fingers on his side whenever he's anxious, and how he subconsciously hums an old Alleycats song when he thinks nobody's listening.

It's knowing that he likes to wear a little bit of perfume in the morning even if he's just going to stay at home the whole day, and that he likes to hug his mother before she goes to bed every night. It's knowing that he hates it when people keep telling him to quit smoking, but  secretly he's been cutting down considerably on the cigarettes.

It's recognising the way he walks even from a mile away, and being able to spot the top of his head in a crowd, and remembering how his pinky finger can't bend due to an injury from a childhood accident. It's noticing how he hates eating mushrooms except when they're on a pizza, how his face always brightens up as his little sister walks into the room, and how annoyed he gets if someone sits on his neatly made bed.

It's realising how quiet he gets around his father, not out of fear but out of respect. It's noticing how he constantly tips the worker who helps him at a petrol station, no matter how discreet he always tries to be. It's knowing that he likes to eat his fries with vanilla ice cream, and that he only eats his KFC chickens with Life chilli sauce.

It's remembering that he goes to see his grandparents every Saturday night, and that he loves to count the number of anchovies in his nasi lemak. It's noticing how he shuts his eyes tightly whenever he tries to remember someone's name, and how he always snaps his fingers every time he remembers something important.

No matter how insignificant these things are to most people, they mean a whole lot to you simply because they add up to one of your most favourite people in this world. Loving someone means you care enough about a person to actually take notice of their quirks and habits, even though you can't understand some of them. I personally feel that the little things about a person take up a lot more space in your heart than anything else. They're the things that you tend to miss the most whenever he's away.

I don't know much about love. Love is a lot of things. It has no absolute definition and is almost always beyond description. But one thing I do know is that, it's not always expressed through the words "I love you."