Painful Memories Still Linger
Painful Memories
Lynette woke up with tears on her cheeks. She grabbed a tissue and wiped the tears away. Why was I crying? She sat up, staring out the window at the full moon, trying to remember the dream she had. It was all so fuzzy, but she knew it was sad, for she was really crying. She got up and put on a robe. When she started for the kitchen to make some tea she remembered it all and it hit her hard, almost doubling her over with pain.
It was that horrible argument she had with her best friend, Charles. They had been so close for the last two years then it just all blew apart when he betrayed her. They were having an argument, something they often did, but it could been smoothed out. It could have got to the point where they each apologized, knowing all was good, knowing they loved each other. Then in the middle of the argument she got a phone call from another friend who asked if she had heard what Charles was saying about her to people they both knew.
When Lynette said no, looking quickly at Charles, the friend on the phone said that Charles told others about their last disagreement, a private conversation, and degraded her to others. The pain Lynette felt when she heard that
was unbearable and sent her into an emotional breakdown, which exploded in the argument she was currently having with Charles. It turned into a long and very hurtful disagreement with accusations on both sides. It ended with Lynette telling him they were no longer friends and to leave her alone. He angrily said he would and left.
They both were so hurt and the painful memories lasted a long time. Lynette knew the friendship was gone – just like that! She kept thinking “How could he do that to me? I have loved him like he was my brother.” It took her several days to realize she just had to go on without him as a friend. They worked at the same place, so it would not be wise to publicly retaliate, nor did she really want to. Instead she did the best she could to remain pleasant to him while at
their workplace.
Days turned into a few weeks and Lynette felt she was over the painful memories and hurt. She kept telling herself that she forgave him and herself for sacrificing their friendship. Now here she was at 3:00 in the morning crying over her cup of hot tea that was by now cold. She knew in her heart that she had to talk with him. If the friendship was to be healed and go forward, they had to share their feelings and openly forgive each other.
Lynette went back to bed and lay there wondering how and when they could come back together and try to repair the damage they both did to each other. The closeness was gone, but could they start over and find it once again? Time will tell.
The first thing to do was to forgive.
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Critiques are welcome.
© 2017 Phyllis Doyle Burns
I am also an author on TCE and write mainly in poetry and short stories.
I have always liked to write.It is important to me that writing comes from my heart and soul. When writing poetry, if I do not feel a spiritual connection to what I am writing on, I will discard it and go on to something I can connect with on a spiritual level. I live in the moment, I write from the past or beyond the veil. When writing fiction I go with whatever inspires me at the moment - it could be funny, sorrowful, romantic or sometimes done with the use of colloquial language from mountain folk or other cultural regions.
I began writing content online in 2007, starting with BellaOnline - A Voice For Women, where I was the Native American Editor, Folklore & Mythology Editor, and the Appalachian Editor. I also wrote articles forThe Examiner, Daily Two Cents, and Yahoo. I am a freelance writer for Fiverr. I am currently an author on HubPages, a member/author of the Maven Coalition, and Senior Editor and an author for The Creative Exiles.
Most of what I write takes a lot of research and I love it. Even if it is a fictional story, I will research for accuracy in whatever it takes to make my characters, their era, their location, etc. become realistic to the reader.
I hope you enjoy my works. Thank you for visiting.
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A well written but somewhat sad story, Phyllis. I know this sounds cliched but it is easier to forgive than forget. People sometimes hurt each other unintentionally and although the act is often forgiven, it is hard to delete it from one’s mind. Time often heals but not always completely.
I have found forgiveness the hardest thing for me to to, especially to someone who hurt me emotionally very deeply. Sometimes though you have to bury the past and move forward or else the pain were inflicting on ourselves like a curse will never leave us. So I learned to forgive, but I still have hate in my heart and never forgave what that person did to me, but to that person, I offered forgiveness so her soul could find rest. It’s difficult Phyllis and anyone finding themselves in this type of situation have to cautiously guard their heart so it’ doesn’t get broken any further or again. So my advice to a person in these circumstances would be to “know thyself”first before deciding to get back together with a person who has done such hurt to ones soul, will he ever stop doing it??
Thank you, John. I agree with all you say. In this story, she has realized she buried her feelings and pretended all was forgiven. Lynette has reached a stage to examine her feelings and heal by really forgiving. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Thanks, Vincent. To forgive one really has to say it openly and feel it in their heart. It is easy to tell one’s self that all is forgiven, yet that only buries the problems. In this story, the two were so close that they were like siblings, often squabbling till it all blew up and tore them apart. Will he do it again? That is the chance Lynette has to take if she wants to renew their friendship. At the same time, she has to look within and realize that she is as much at fault as he was for continually bickering instead of discussing their feelings. Thanks for reading and commenting, Vincent, I appreciate it.
A very sad story, but well-written and most enjoyed. Loving someone is the easy part – the difficult part is when we have to forgive them…
Thanks for reading, Kurt. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to forgive. One must be able to forgive and let it go. Glad you enjoyed this story.
Sad Phyllis, and forgiveness is often not easy, but it is the only way to disconnect yourself from a circumstance. So letting go is the only answer. Well penned and emotive as always my friend.
Thank you so much, Tony. Yes, letting go is the only answer. When one tries to bury it all it will come back and hurt again. I am very pleased you read and commented. Thank you. x
That was sad! And yet, I know people who can forgive and forget and go back to how things were. I tell myself (maybe superciliously?) that I could never do that because I feel too deeply and I am very loyal. Maybe that would be justification for some of us to forgive but never forget and never being able to get back to the way things were?
Hello Shalini, it is so nice to see you back with us. Thank you for reading the story. Once in awhile I will write a sad story to help me go back to some things in my past that need to be let go of. I cry as the story unfolds then it helps to bring back my own memories, understand myself better and let go of past hurts. Sometimes it is possible to go back to the way things were, but it depends on the other person as well as the Self.If they both want to renew and strengthen their relation they must work together to rebuild. In this story, Lynette is just realizing she needs to embrace her hurt, open her heart to her friend, forgive then try to let it go. Thank you again for reading and commenting.