Context: It is bedtime. As usual, Ru and I are gazing up at the ceiling and having our nightly chit-chat before sleep.

Me: I love you, Ru. Do you love me too?
Ru: (with a mischievous grin) No.
Me: (pretending to think hard) Do you love me three?
Ru: (still grinning) No.
Me: (raising an eyebrow) Do you love me four?
Ru: (shaking his head, as if almost loving the game) No.
Me: (dramatic sigh) Do you love me five?
Ru: (yells playfully) No!
Me: (sad) Oh!
Ru: Love you ten, Mumma!
Me: (jumping with joy, gives him a tight hug) Love you ten too, Ru!

They say love often arrives when the heart is unguarded. That it slips through the quiet spaces especially where and when we least expect it. And when love arrives, they say love defies quantification. If love can’t be measured, why do we long for equal love, or perhaps even more…? Perhaps love’s true essence is found not in the “how much”, but in the “how” we can continue to recognise and respect each other’s worth.