Stages

"What's falling in love like?" asked the thirteen year old.

"I don't know. I've never been in a relationship." answered the fifteen year old.

"That's the thing about falling in love. We only consider it when it's mutual when it doesn't have to be because love is like a deal that can either be accepted or rejected." quipped a seventeen year old.

"And yes, I did fall in love not with the wrong person nor in the wrong time, but with the right answer." the seventeen year old added.

So she believed in it.

"What does falling in love feels?" asked again the thirteen year old.

The fifteen year old couldn't find a response. She was as clumsy as the thirteen year old was.

"Oh it feels fulfilling. And the small acts are usually the ones that make you blush." a nineteen year old responded.

"So you are in love?" the thirteen year old scrutinized.

Now at nineteen, the woman looked back to her answers and questions on the different ages of life. Then very quietly, she whispered one word.

"Were."