Discharged

Discharged
Evelyn's Point of view

Sorrow is the only emotion I knew of; I wore it like a shroud. I hated clinging to this emotion; I yearned to feel something new like a sense of true happiness, and as comfortable as sadness was, it was time to let it go, to free myself from this never-ending agony, and as the therapist said, if I wanted to free myself, I had to forgive and let go.
I thought of all the pain she put me through, the bitterness she stabbed in my heart that stayed with me for the past 25 years of my life, and the ache she put on my chest.
I thought of it all, and I released her from the grudge, the hatred, and the anger I had against her. I'm forgiving her, but at least I needed closure.
But with her, I was well aware that she doesn't regret what she had done to me, so I wrote everything down; every single detail was now etched on the paper with bold letters.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I clenched the paper in my hand, lit the lighter, put the flame on the paper, and with a deep breath, released it from my hand, letting it all burn, along with all the pain.
I exhaled deeply; unexpectedly, it felt as though a heavy weight was removed from my shoulder, leaving my whole being lighter.

I've been carrying such a heavy burden with me without even realizing it; it was slowly destroying me without even realizing it, but now I've let everything go… I chose to forgive her, and I hope God forgives her for all the pain she's caused to innocent souls.
A soft pat on the door brought me out of my sorrowful world. I lifted my thumb to my face and brushed away the tears in my eyes.
“Come in!”
I cleared the lump forming in my throat.
The door flung open, and I snapped my gaze to the door.
My heart seemed to have stopped beating completely before it started beating again.
“Evelyn __”
His voice is barely above a whisper; our eyes meet in an intense gaze. I didn't waste a second; I rushed to him as he spread his arm to welcome me into his warm embrace.
“Evelyn, are you alright, my love?”
His voice cracked with emotions, not just any emotions but the deep kind of emotion.
I couldn't utter a word, more tears welling up in my eyes, soft sobs breaking free from my lips.
“I was scared, Evelyn; I thought I'd lose you forever, and the thought alone was too unbearable. I can't live without you—I can't; life becomes meaningless without seeing your face!”
His voice was now tearful as he pulled me even closer. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. This is all I needed at last, being in his warm embrace. It's not just about being in his warm embrace, but it's about being in my warm home. He's my home, the reason I let go of everything and started a new chapter of my life. He's the only reason.
“I love you, Evelyn, so much that I almost died seeing you suffering so much, yet I couldn't do anything. I felt like the biggest failure in the world…”
His voice was barely above a whisper, and I felt his tears on my shoulder.
“Arthur, you are __you are not a failure; you saved me from drowning in my sorrow and my trauma. It is all because of your love that I'm standing here with you…”
My chest tightened. My mind had been filled with nothing but dangerous thoughts, but every time I thought of him, I'd be hopeful of our beautiful future together.
“No, Evelyn, your bravery saved you from drowning. My wife is the strongest woman I've ever seen, and once again you've proven me right. You are a fighter, and you all win each and every battle you take on.”
I chuckled between my sobs at my words. Obviously he won't take the credit for any of it.
Arthur pulled me out of his embrace, and our gaze met. His eyes were red, and eyebags were etched under his eyes.
He lifted his finger to my face, brushing away the tears from my eyes. “Thank you for being so brave… I was scared that you'd be lost in your past forever and that I'd never see you again.. ” From today I won't let my past control the present and future. The past will stay in the past, and you will stay with me forever because you are my present and my future.”
Arthur cupped my face gently, pulling me into a soft kiss. It wasn't just a kiss; it was him telling me without words just how much he loved me. It was our way of speaking when words couldn't describe our emotions.
Sometimes even words aren't enough to convey the message, and that's when our lips would speak.
“I love you so much, Evelyn, more than I love myself because you are the most important part of me I never want to lose.”
Arthur spoke between the kiss, pulling me even closer to him.
“I love you, Arthur; you are the reason for my whole existence…”
I panted softly between the kisses. The two of us got lost in our own world where there's only us without the noise of the world.
The knock at the door pulled us out of our blissful moments. Arthur finally breaks the kiss, his eyes finding mine again. We nearly forgot about the knock on the door until we heard it clicking and flung open.
“Sorry to disturb you guys, but I have good news…”
I shifted my attention to the sound of the doctor's words.
“You are being discharged today, Evelyn. You've been doing pretty well for the past month, and I think it's only fair for you to go home.”
A smile stretched across my lips. “Thank you, Doctor. I was starting to enjoy it here; I didn't think I'd go home soon…”
I joked, and Arthur threw me a glare!
“So you weren't missing me at all?” His brow lifted.
I burst into laughter, and the doctor joined in.
“I'm just joking; of course I've been dying to meet you once again.”
I said, the laugh dying down in my throat.
Arthur let out a chuckle, pulling me into a hug.
“I will leave you two alone; come downstairs and finish the paperwork.”
The doctor's words fell on deaf ears as Arthur captured my lips again.