Page 117 of Salute, To Bravery
The tears fell, causing me to grip the counter for dear life. I needed a distraction. I didn’t move; I allowed the panic attack to overtake me.
The shallow breaths turned quick, and my palms were sweaty as I drowned in the air. I went to my phone, moved into my breathing app, and started to follow the instructions and illustrations. Soon enough, the tears stopped. My breathing became controlled.
My cat came up to me, purring.
I picked Midnight up, then grabbed my phone and went to my living room. I set my phone on the coffee table, grabbed the remote, sat in my favorite chair, and continued to watch my favorite show to help calm me down.
Chapter Three.
Violet
Her hair, her vanilla perfume, everything about her was captivating. Everyone was captivating, inspiring, and phenomenal, but Ophelia stood out to me. It was like she understood everything and all of my actions as if she were doing them. When I placed my input during the group, it was always Ophelia who jumped in and built on it. It was always Ophelia making eye contact with me while I was talking. It was always her. It felt like it was only her and me when we made eye contact, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.
I got butterflies just thinking about it.
Ring. Ring.
I looked at my phone, and it showed a silly photo of my dad. I took a deep breath, calmed my mind, and answered the phone.
“Hi,” I said to him.
“So, how was therapy?”
“Getting right to the point, aren’t ya,” I joked. “It was nice. I felt like I was seen, just like you said I would. They understood the hardships and the kindness of life as well. They were all so inviting, to say the least. I also… met someone,” I stammered.
“That’s amazing,” he said instantly.
Relief fell over me. “Thanks. Yeah, we’re going to hang out later this week.”
“What’s her name?”
“Ophelia, Ophelia Raven is her name. She’s so kind and open, and even sweet. She was like a breath of fresh air; she was like the sun,” I rambled on.
“Oh,” is all my father said. “Youmetsomeone. That’s okay. I’m not mad, Goofy.” Goofy was my favorite character growing up, so now he called me that to remind me of the good part of my childhood.
“Okay,” I uttered cautiously.
“Violet, I’m not mad. I have another call coming in. Talk to you later, okay, Goofy?”
“Okay, see ya.”
I looked back at my phone, realizing I had several text messages from Luna.
Hey, when are you going to get back to me?
How long is therapy supposed to take????
Just answer me already!
Fine, be like that!
I quickly clicked on her contact and called her.
“Finally! Took ya long enough,” Luna answered the phone. “Weren’t you supposed to be done hours ago?”
“Lunch turned into dinner. It was good, all of it was good, and I met someone. Someone who made me feel excited to live, who made me feel good. I haven’t met someone like that in a while,” I said.
“Oh. My. God. You found your soulmate!”
