the tune of us

Epilogue

Epilogue

After everything I had been through, after all the storms that seemed to last a lifetime, I can finally say that I feel okay now. For so many years, I was caught in a whirlwind of pain, confusion, and hurt. It felt like an unending cycle of suffering that would never stop. But today, as I sit and reflect on the journey I've been on, I can finally see that things have begun to change. Slowly, I became happier, more open, and more at peace with everything that had happened.

The scars from the past still exist. They haven't disappeared overnight, nor did I expect them to. But what surprises me is how quickly things turned around. I thought healing would take years, that I'd be stuck in the darkness forever, unable to move forward. But here I am now, realizing that the human spirit can bounce back in the most unexpected ways.

It started with small steps. At first, I distanced myself from everyone—my family, Edevane's family, even myself. I didn't want to feel anything, and I certainly didn't want to face the reality of what had happened. But as time passed, I slowly opened up. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't immediate. There were moments when I thought I'd retreat back into my shell and never come out. But something inside me kept pushing forward, encouraging me to heal, to grow, and to let go of the past.

Reconnecting with my family and with Edevane's family was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I expected it to be a long, painful process filled with resentment and awkwardness. And at first, it was. Every interaction felt forced, every conversation was like stepping on broken glass. But as we continued to talk, to be honest with each other, I started to feel something shift. The walls I had built up for years slowly began to crumble, brick by brick.

My family, especially my parents, were the first to notice the changes in me. They could see that I was slowly opening up, and they matched my pace. They didn't rush me or demand explanations for everything. Instead, they let me come to them in my own time. We started having real conversations—ones that weren't filled with accusations or defensiveness. For the first time in years, I felt like I could be vulnerable around them without fear of judgment.

It was the same with Edevane's family. At first, I wasn't sure how I'd ever look at them the same way after everything that had happened. But just like with my own family, we began to rebuild our relationship slowly. Catherine, Edevane's mother, was especially patient with me. She understood that healing wasn't going to happen overnight, and she gave me the space I needed. Edevane himself was another story. He had been a big part of my life, and reconnecting with him felt both comforting and strange. But, much like everything else, time was the key.

As the weeks and months went by, I began to realize that I was feeling things again—joy, hope, peace. Emotions I thought I'd lost forever started to come back. I began to laugh more, to smile without forcing it. I could wake up in the morning and not dread the day ahead of me. I found myself slowly rebuilding the bonds that had been broken for so long.

It wasn't just about forgiveness, though. Forgiveness was part of it, but it was also about understanding. I began to understand that none of us are perfect, that we all make mistakes—sometimes huge ones that feel impossible to come back from. But what mattered was the effort we put into fixing things. And slowly, I could see that both my family and Edevane's family were making that effort. They wanted to make things right, and I wanted to let them.

I thought the process would be agonizing, full of bitterness and unresolved issues. But what shocked me was how quickly things fell into place once we all made the effort. Healing happened faster than I expected, and I found myself in a place I didn't think I'd reach so soon. I had spent so many years in emotional turmoil that I thought I'd never escape it. Yet here I was, learning to trust again, learning to love again.