Secrets? Never.

2. Losing The War

It seemed to Emily as though happiness was fleeting; something that came hard-fought to her, and left with little more ease than a frog catching a fly on the end of its tongue. As soon as something gave her joy in life, something tainted it, made it, not so special anymore. No matter how much she held on to, or clawed at what happiness she'd obtained, nothing could keep it from being muddied up.

Though she had everything one could possibly wish for, happiness continued to elude her. It hadn't always been that way, though. Once upon a time, she and her husband, or then fiancé, had been ludicrously happy. But it would seem that their rollercoaster romance that only went up had plateaued, they had made the grey area between happiness and sadness their home, and by all appearances, they weren't about to soar any higher in the foreseeable future.

She thought back to a time when she truly felt as though she was happy. It was nearing the end of summer, and Daniel and Emily's relationship was strong as ever. Free from the confines that now encased them, disabling their movement away from one another.

Flashback;

"I feel like we should go with blue as our colour theme" Emily announced out of the blue as they lay intertwined in bed together. "Eh," Daniel replied, not too enthused by the idea, but not willing to dismiss his fiancée entirely "I've been thinking about something less intrusive, like beige, or, taupe." Emily rose to her elbows, giving Daniel a quizzical look, and replied jokingly "Are you sure you want to marry a woman? Because I'm pretty sure you're Nolan's type!"

Daniel loved how Emily could gently mock him without him feeling the least bit put out. "I just don't want anything too eye catching to take even an iota of attention away from you on your day is all." "Well," Emily announced, "I think that deserves a kiss." Their lips locked for no more than a few seconds, before breaking apart, as the two gently rested their foreheads together, staring into eachothers eyes. "You and I will always be honest with eachother, right?" Daniel asked, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Forever."

Present;

But it then occurred to Emily that happiness wasn't a destination, but a state of mind; an emotion that came and went as it pleased, not bothering to seek her input or give prior notice of its appearance, or, indeed disappearance. This was something she was just going to have to come to terms with; her destination, however vague, being ripped out from under her.

She imagined a new ideal; a new destination for herself. After thinking to herself for a few minutes, she imagined sitting around the roaring fire with her three children, when Daniel sidled up to the couch, a tray of hot drinks in hand. They proceeded to tell stories and laugh, before, one by one, each child fell soundly asleep, and, no matter how many times emily experienced this same night; as most of them would be the very same, she'd never get bored. Daniel would never get bored. Even when the children had left home, the two would sit together, and reminisce; about the good times, the bad times, and the near perfect life they'd had, despite any and all problems they'd faced together.

Sadly, though, it wasn't to be; this ideal would never come to fruition; because happiness isn't a destination, at least, not for Emily Grayson.

© Sarah Egan 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. This story is subject to copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the author.