The First Unburdened Morning

Dear Delyara, I woke up this morning and, for the first time in three hundred and forty-two days, I didn't think about him within the first five seconds. I didn't reach for my phone to see if he’d called. I didn't feel that familiar, hollow ache in the center of my chest. Instead, I noticed that the sun was hitting the wall in a really beautiful way. I made myself breakfast—real food, not just coffee—and I realized that the fog has finally lifted. I’m not "cured," but I am no longer a prisoner of my own grief. I’m coming back to the world, and for the first time, I actually want to be here.