I told him I like the name Milo.
Because it reminds me of Milo and Otis—that movie about the cat and the pug. I can’t even really remember the whole plot anymore. I just remember Milo all alone in that box on the water, at night, in the rain, and how scary it felt as a little girl watching him drift there by himself.
But he made it through the night.
And then, when Milo and Otis finally found each other again, the world didn't suddenly stop being scary. They were still lost. They were still trying to find their way home. They still almost got eaten by a bear.
But at least they were together.
They could both still be scared, but they didn't have to be scared alone. And I think that's what kept them going. Not because everything was fixed right away, but because they had each other while they were trying to survive it.
And in the end, that's what helped them find home again.
So let me be in the box with you.
Let us be scared together and keep moving forward anyway, even with the rain pelting us in the face. Let me fight the bears with you, because you don’t have to fight them alone anymore.
And I’m stubborn. I won’t leave your side unless you look me in the eyes and tell me to go.
Because for a girl who has never really felt like she had a permanent home, it feels like I finally found one in a person.
And I don’t want to move again.