Chapter 5: Breakfast, One Year Later
Chapter 5: Breakfast, One Year Later
Exactly one year later, I woke before sunrise.
Not because someone demanded it.
Because I wanted to.
The kitchen smelled like fresh coffee and cinnamon.
My father sat across the island reading the newspaper.
He smiled.
"Making breakfast?"
"I felt like it."
"No traditions?"
I laughed.
"No obligations."
Only choice.
After breakfast, I left for work.
The pharmacy was busy as always.
Patients smiled.
Coworkers waved.
Life had quietly become ordinary again.
Sometimes ordinary is the greatest victory.
That afternoon, I removed my wedding ring from the small box where it had rested for months.
I walked to the river.
Watched the water carry sunlight across its surface.
Then I dropped the ring into a donation envelope instead, sending its value to a local organization that helps survivors of domestic violence start over.
The gold no longer represented a promise.
It represented a lesson.
As I walked away, my phone buzzed.
Dad.
"Dinner tonight?"
"Only if you aren't making me cook breakfast."
He laughed.
"Deal."
I smiled and kept walking.
For the first time in a long time...
I wasn't walking away from something.
May you like
I was finally walking toward my own life.
The End.
