The woman who stood in front me couldn’t be Lin---how could a person change so much within a month? But it was Lin, just not the person I was familiar with. She must have lost 30 pounds, her plump face become sagged now, and there were bags under her eyes. A month ago, Lin’s marriage felt apart. It ended up like some cranky old movies. She caught her husband cheating on her, and the woman he had affair with was not someone else but her best friend. For her three-year-old daughter, she swallowed down the killing sense of betrayal and tried to work things out. But it takes two to maintain a relationship, and there are three in this one.

      Today is the first time I saw her in public after the divorce. On the appearance, she functioned well, meeting everyone with a polite smile. But her gaze was somehow distant as if she were looking through a window at some unpleasant sight. Most of the time she seemed removed from the scene and was withdrawn into her own world. There was an ever-present sadness about her, as if her body could not contain the searing emotional pain burst inside and it leaked all through her. For a moment, I wanted to come forward and hugged her, to tell her everything would be fine. But I knew better to do that. We were here to attend Lin’s brother’s wedding, and it was certainly not a good time to talk about Lin’s divorce. Besides, she tried so hard to force the bitterness and burning pain into an inner prison, the least thing she needed now probably was the sympathy from the others. Sometimes, the pain of betrayal is comparably easier to deal with. It’s the crushing humiliation of it that makes things unbearable. 

      From the beginning, Lin’s marriage didn’t gain much support from her family. Her ex-husband was divorced once, and her parents didn't think he is the right person they could entrust their daughter with. However, love is blind. Lin was so impressed by his charming that she didn’t see the real person behind a façade of eager-suitor affability. However, certain man are only interested in the chase, once the objective of their desire is obtained, they become indifferent. Unfortunately he is one of them. Now five years marriage left Lin nothing but a 3-year-old daughter, a broken heart and a bruised-all-over soul.

     Lin, I don’t know how to offer comforts to you. Anything I said probably would push you more into this emotional turmoil. So I can only hope one day when the time lulls the sharp age of agony, you would once again become the person I know---happy and full of hope for the future.