Broken Strings

C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N

But even when she had dated people before Andrew, her mother had always made her a cup of warm tea and talked about everything and nothing, simply aware of the fact that her daughter was upset about something.

And Anisha wouldn't get to do that for Mira. And she was afraid to ask who would fix Mira's broken heart. Because even if her own mother hadn't told her that she would be okay, that there the one she had just broken up with simply wasn't the right one, it was the support and comfort that her mother provided that always made Anisha feel warm and loved. It was her mother's love and encouragement that gave Anisha hope that her broken heart would heal.

And it was when Mira would need her mother the most that Anisha wouldn't be around anymore.

And that's what was tearing Anisha apart the most.

Mira was eight. Eight years old was nothing, it was absolutely nothing compared to the rest of her life. The rest of her life would be filled with happy memories, sad memories. And Anisha would only be a small part of her daughter's life.

"Mira, you know if I remember, your exact words were 'I hate him.' And something along the line of how stupid he is."

"That's because he is." Mira looked around once again. Soccer was boring to watch but maybe if Aaron was here, she would have more fun. He always made her laugh. And even if she didn't want to admit it, she did have tiny little crush on him.

But he was a jerk. And there was no way she could like him. She didn't like jerks.

She smiled back up at her mother. "Scoot over Mommy!"

Anisha playfully shook her head; Mira wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. She slowly inched closer to her husband but left more than enough space between them.

She was simply tired, of all of it.

She looked out to the field, trying to find her son. The game had long started and she had already been ten minutes late.

And she smiled as she watched Ryan run up and down the soccer field.

She was watching him play soccer for the last time.

And she closed her eyes as a stray tear slid down her left cheek.

She had been happy once.

And a gentle breeze slowly swept by. The cool summer breeze was refreshing. It was a breath of fresh air in her dull world.

She could remember all of it. Remember the days she had been happy. Because she had been happy some time ago.

For the first time, she felt content.

The bitterness just wasn't as sour right now.

Because everything around her seemed nice. It seemed nice.

The warm sun, the fresh breeze, the green grass, her son playing soccer, her daughter smiling at her, and her husband sitting next to her.

Everything felt nice. It felt right. And she knew things were far from fine.

But even still, everything felt good. Because it seemed like a good ending.

She felt happy.

She felt content.

For the first time, she didn't hate Andrew for everything he had done to her. For the first time, she didn't hate Amanda for manipulating her. For the first time, she didn't hate Sebastian for being the first person to break her heart.

This was her life.

Everything that she had smiled for, cried for, tried for, it was all a part of her story.