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Emotion Empathy Narrative Poetry Reflection

When Love Gives Way to Lies

When Love Gives Way to Lies
By Janie Cao
Edited by Shaun Webb
One evening on my way back from a hospital shift, I saw a woman staggering along the street. Half walking… half falling… It looked like she was trying to get back home after spending some time at the nearby bar.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to respond as an almost-doctor. But it didn’t feel quite right to just leave her be, especially when she was drunk and in the dark, all alone.

By the time I drove to her, she was already in the parking lot of her apartment complex. I got out anyways, just to say “Hi.”

I remember when she turned and looked at me. She paused. And in those moments of silence, I saw heartache.  There was also sadness, anger, and a pain that would leave marks. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know me enough to trust me. There was too much hurt to hide. As I watched her eyes, I remember wanting so much to stop her from feeling that night.

Finally, she chuckled and smiled bitterly. “My husband…” she said. Then she gave me a kiss goodbye.

She never finished her sentence, but I wonder if it had something to do with this: that when a husband hurts his wife, and love gives way to lies, it can simply be called life. I went home after, and cried.

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based on a true story

Photo credit: Bernard Laguerre