Get Into Houa's Mind

Life had a switch button, Brad swore, because it had switched to perfect overnight. Since her confession, he’d gone to bed smiling and waking up to finding the smile was still there. There was a part of him still that was doubtful this was all a dream. He was afraid he’d wake up and she wouldn’t be smiling at him when he entered the bakery. He didn’t want to go a day without kissing her. Her fragrance was a delight to inhale and her eyes were a joy to stare into. Everything about her was perfect and his life was now completed by the sound of her laughter. He’d been prescribed life’s sweetest gift.             He always got his usual coffee and blue berry pie in the morning and took her out to lunch. Then when she got off work, he took her to his home where he cooked them a meal. Their evenings ended with them on the couch discussing books, debating which author was more brilliant, and which artist brought out better visuals. She loved watching him work and loved his paintings. H

Angie hadn’t thought about what she would do if one day her heart should betray her and suddenly love again. This was the day she feared the most because she was afraid if she did love, she would forget about Luke. She was afraid if she loved, it would be going against everything she and Luke had promised each other. Did it mean that she was going to be unfaithful? Can you be unfaithful to someone who wasn’t alive anymore? The more she thought it over, the more confused she became.             When she arrived home, she spent the evening thinking about the afternoon conversation with Brad. A part of her knew that she very much wanted to open up to Brad and at least try to move on again. But another part of just couldn’t erase Luke’s image and she felt as if she would be lying to herself if she stepped forward. In the end, she would hurt Brad the most. She was afraid if she opened up her heart, old wounds may surface and she wasn’t prepared to accept that.             While tr

Present Day             Lying in the darkness, it consumed Angie as her memory went back to a place that ate away at her insides. It was filled with a time where she was happy with someone who loved her more than she ever thought possible. She ached in places that no one could heal and her veins were swimming with his laughter. Four and a half years of nightmares that kept her awake at night. Four and a half years of tears for what might have been. Angie sobbed, her heart tearing as she held the dog tags that had Luke’s name inscribed on it. Life was unfair and unjust. If she closed her eyes, she could feel him next to her and could remember how he smelled, how he tasted when she kissed him, and she would end up lying in a ball of crying heap until her mother arrived to help her.             She’d tried to move on. She did. She tried. But everything that surrounded her reminded her of him. Their friends, Nick and Susan’s wedding, where Luke was supposed to be the best man; he