Eight months after breaking up with my Italian partner Nico, I returned to Milan seeking closure but found an opportunity for deeper healing. I realized I'd been turning away from love not because it was harmful, but because it didn't arrive in the shape I expected.
Moving from London to Milan had meant losing everything that defined me - my community, work, and sense of belonging. I carried this grief and cultural isolation into our relationship, projecting my pain onto him instead of facing it myself.
When we reunited, I experienced what I now understand as relationship anxiety - intrusive thoughts that arise not from danger but when something tender is touched. I learned to distinguish between my intuition and my fear, and to hold paradox rather than demand certainty.
This is a story about learning to receive love as it actually is, intercultural relationships as acts of resistance, and partnerships as practice grounds for transformation. Sometimes a person can be a place, and love can take root in imperfect soil.
Get full access to tender contributions at naomishimada.substack.com/subscribe