The Unsaid Words

My mother never said "I love you." Not once in thirty-seven years. She showed love in other ways — packed lunches, warm blankets, remembering that I preferred strawberry jam.\n\nFor years, I resented this.\n\nThe night before my wedding, she came to my room with a small velvet box. Inside was a gold locket with a tiny note: "To my daughter — I love you more than words can say."\n\n"She never said it either," my mother said quietly. "Your grandmother. Not once. But she wrote it in this locket."\n\nI put the locket on. I've never taken it off.\n\nMy mother passed away three years ago. I never heard her say "I love you." But I know she did. I know it the way I know the sun will rise tomorrow — because I've felt its warmth.