Chapter 14
A completely unexpected letter arrived in the mail on Tuesday,
hidden quietly between the mundane electric bills,
and the colorful,
but completely useless grocery store flyers.
Jessica recognized the sharp,
and heavily slanted handwriting immediately,
her stomach giving a sudden,
and entirely uncomfortable lurch of old, familiar dread.
It was from Vanessa.
She stood frozen in the middle of her bright kitchen,
staring completely blankly at the thick white envelope,
feeling the ghostly grip of the past,
reaching out to suddenly pull her back down into the dark.
The envelope was completely heavy,
filled with several pages of tightly written words,
probably full of cruel accusations,
and endless,
and entirely fabricated self-pity.
For a brief,
and incredibly agonizing moment,
Jessica's finger hovered over the sealed flap,
tempted by a sick,
and deeply ingrained curiosity to read the poison inside.
But then she heard Emma laughing brightly in the next room,
playing a silly game of hide and seek with Buster,
her voice ringing with pure,
and completely innocent joy.
Jessica closed her eyes tightly,
taking a slow,
and incredibly deep breath of the quiet air,
and letting the old anxiety drain completely out of her shoulders.
She didn't need to read the hurtful words,
she didn't need to expose her newly healed heart,
to the toxic venom her sister always carried.
She walked purposefully toward the small trash can,
and without opening the heavy envelope,
she tore it completely in half,
and then in half again,
dropping the small white pieces directly into the garbage.
It was an incredibly simple,
and entirely empowering physical action,
a final nail in the coffin of their broken relationship.
She washed her hands carefully in the sink,
watching the soapy water swirl down the drain,
feeling exactly like she had just washed away the dirt,
of a very long,
and incredibly exhausting journey.
She walked into the bright living room,
and got down on her hands and knees,
joining Emma and the dog on the soft carpet.
You found me,
Emma squealed happily,
throwing her small arms around Jessica's neck,
and hugging her with all her little might.
I will always find you,
Jessica whispered fiercely into her daughter's ear,
holding her completely tight,
and feeling the absolute truth of those simple words.
She had chosen her true family,
and she had fiercely protected her beautiful child,
from the deeply generational trauma,
that had plagued them for entirely too long.
The rest of the week passed by in a wonderful blur,
filled with quiet dinners,
and completely peaceful evening walks around the block.
Jessica realized that the letter hadn't ruined her day,
it hadn't sent her into a spiraling panic attack,
or made her question her entire self-worth.
She had finally reached the highest peak of the mountain,
and the view from the top was incredibly clear,
May you like
and completely,
and utterly breathtaking in its absolute freedom.
