As I saw the two of you, I realised that it didn't hurt like it used to. The breaking of my heart had turned into a dull ache that I had learned to associate with you.
My eyes didn't sting like they used to and a practiced smile found a way onto my face. I didn't fall apart like I used to.
Maybe there was something wrong with the way you held her. Maybe it didn't hurt because it was nothing close to the way you held my heart.
So, I looked back at the one picture that made me want to claw my heart out of my chest four years ago. The one that made me breakdown for the first time. The one that taught me what heartbreak was.
Instead of finding myself lost in the abyss of this helpless love story of ours, I found myself smiling. Yes, my heart ached a little but I was still smiling.
Because for the first time since I fell, there was hope. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. As I watched her smile, I realised, that I wasn't going to forget you. But maybe I could live without you. Maybe I could be happy. Even if I missed you with every cell in my body.
-zainab
