A tally for when we met;

I'm so thankful you befriend me.

A tally for having commonalities:

Music, Books, Shows, Culture.

A tally for being such a beautiful person,

Inside and out,

That I feel better being near you.

Two tallies for accepting me,

Conspiring with me

When I schemed

To turn everyone into squirrels.

A tally for sleepovers with secrets.

For bruises that match,

For inside laughs...

For getting how I communicate

Because no one seems to understand.

A tally for late nights, lonely nights,

Being there when I need you,

When I need a shoulder to soak.

A tally for helping me when I can't

Carry the burdens that weigh

On my shoulders, my mind, my heart.

A tally for remembering

My birthday and other significant days;

Remembering words that we've shared.

And tolerating me

When I repeat and repeat stories

Too many times.

A tally for growing with me.

Learning with me,

Expanding our persons

Beyond all expectations.

For giving your opinion

When you think, when you know,

I'm wrong,

But not condemning me for it.

A tally for loving me

Like a sister

Even though we met

In the eighth grade.

P.S. I love you, too.

...

Ten tallies for being you

The way no one else could be.

I have many more tallies to give

But here's one more until later,

For I seem to be out of space:

A tally for being my best friend,

For putting a smile on my face.