The Ugly Truth

Chapter 5 - The First Happy Day

My name is Ana Jones.

Sadness, betrayal and heartbreak are part of my everyday life.

They never leave my side.

I used to be so happy. Now it is just a vague memory.

I mooved in with Karen, my psychologist, less than a month ago and things are starting to get better.

I see my mother when I can. (I probably see her one or two times per week).

She has become even sicker than she was when I left and doesn't take care of the house, so I really hate it when I need to visit her.

Karen gave me the room upstairs and she has the one on the main floor near her office.

I really like it here.

It feels more like home than it ever did with my real family.

I'm starting to get better grades.

Karen even convinced me to start playing an instrument.

She used to play guitar when she was young so I decided to try it.

***
(Flashback)

“Here is my old guitar”, she said handing me the instrument. “Its really old so I hope it still has a good sound.”

“It is perfect”, I answered carefully taking the guitar from her hands like it was the most precious thing on earth.

She started by showing me the basic stuff.

I always thought playing guitar was easy. I saw it like a six notes instrument where you just scratched the strings to make some kind of sound, but I was wrong.

It is much more than that.

Just after a few minutes I literally fell in love with the instrument.

It felt different than what I was expecting.

I felt calm and in control.

- Do you wanna try with the pick? She asked.

-No I'm good, I answered thinking that it was easier without it.

Karen showed me a song and I tried it afterwards.

It was horrible.

I mean, I was horrible.

I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up praticing all evening. Refusing to stop trying.

But I couldn't remember all the notes. It was too much.

I refused to give up, skipped supper.

And then, finally, I got it right.

***

Karen was so proud of me. I was too.

It was like we were becoming a real family.

Her and me, forever happy.

It was the first actual happy day after my brother's death, after it all started.