5 Years

Six years ago, I met a girl with waist-length straight brown hair, deep grey eyes, and a shy smile.  I remember her most fondly in her black combat boots, camo pants, and black t-shirt.  She wrote books about vampires and far away lands, and drew the scenes and characters from her books as well as her dreams.  And as she laughed with her group of friends in the back of our English class, I watched out of the corner of my eye from my seat in the front row. 
The following year, that girl sat next to me in Study Hall.  Again she brought her books that I had been so curious about the previous year.  She passed one to me with a smile.  "It's about Vampires" she said softly.  I grinned back "I like vampires."
From that day on, we began talking more and more.  I was in a relationship with another girl then, but I told my new friend that she should go to Homecoming.  She laughed at me.  "Me?  At a dance?"  And luckily some friends who sat around us were on my side, and we convinced her to go.
At the Homecoming dance, as I awkwardly swayed with my date, I glanced around the room, and saw a shocking sight.  The girl with combat boots and camo pants walked shyly into the cafeteria wearing a dark red and black dress, and long curls in her hair.  I was happy to see her there.  I never danced with her, but I was happy nonetheless.
The following summer, I broke up with my girlfriend and shyly asked "Sarah Rebecca Rogers, will you be my girlfriend?"  And she responded with a yes.
For months after this, she proceeded to tell me that she wasn't worth my attention.  She would only hurt me.  She could never let anyone into her heart.  "Everyone leaves me eventually" she said
She told me anything she could to discourage me.  But I smiled through it, and never left her side.  I'm not sure when it happened, but eventually she must have realized that I was not going to give up or leave her, and she relaxed slightly.  Though she still kept her guard up slightly. 
This is how I fell in love for the first time.  Five years later, we're celebrating the fifth anniversary of our relationship.  We've grown closer and closer together with each day, and we continue to do so. 
We've gone through a few rough patches, but always managed to work it out.  I've found that communication and honesty are the key to a relationship.  If you're honest with one another, and tell each other how you feel about things, difficult situations become much easier.  The trust that is built between two people through the years is so important.  If there is no trust, there is no relationship.  Constantly accusing each other, or worrying if the other person is being faithful every day, will lead only to ruin.  There can be no happiness without trust.
Today, I can say that I am happy.  I am truly happy.  And it's an unbelievable feeling.
So thank you, Sarah, for making my life so incredibly wonderful.  For inspiring me to reach higher, dig deeper, and love stronger than I ever could have on my own.  You are the best part of my life. 
And five years later, I still stand by your side, and I'm not leaving.
I love you.