**Diary Entry**
I suppose Grandma was right after all.
It took Anna years to finally make up her mind. After her beloved grandmothers funeral, something shifted inside her. She picked up her phone, looked up the train schedule, and booked a ticket heading back to her hometown. It was timetime to face the past, to make peace with it, once and for all.
The train raced through endless fields and forests, blurring the familiar landscapes of her childhood. Anna stared out the window, lost in thought. Maybe it *was* worth trying to forgive her mother. Grandma had always said that forgiveness lifts the weight of old wounds, letting you move forward.
Her heart pounded as the train pulled into the small station. Her steps were hesitant, as if her legs resisted every movement. She walked slowly, mechanically, pausing every few paces to steady herself.
And then, there it wasthe little wooden cottage where shed once lived, where her mother had later died. The place looked derelict, windows covered in newspaper, shutters creaking in the wind. A sharp ache twisted in Annas chest as memories rushed back: happy moments with her father and brothers, the only threads still tying her to this place. A heavy padlock hung on the door. One tug, and the whole thing might crumble. But she didnt test it. Instead, she sat on the rickety porch for hours, thinking. Then, abruptly, she stood and walked back to the station. Did she feel lighter? Yes. Something in her had loosened, the bitterness slipping away.
Ten years ago, Anna had sat at her desk, eyes glued to her computer screen, her mind miles awaytrapped in memories of a childhood that had long since turned sour. Her fingers absently twisted an old school pen.
Dad was gone forever, leaving behind three children and a wife drowning in grief and loneliness.
Anna remembered it vividly: the stale stench of cheap alcohol, her mothers endless tears, her older brothers whining, and herselfjust five years oldclinging to Grandmas knees, lost and small. No more bedtime stories, no more gentle hands smoothing her hair.
“Why then?” shed often wondered later. Why did fate take him when they needed him most?
And now, years later, came the newsher mother was dead.
“Are you even going to the funeral?” Grandmas voice was sharp, indignant. She stood there, arms crossed, disapproval in her eyes.
Anna looked up from the screen, her gaze cold.
“Why should I? I hated her! She was a messdrunk, selfish, she didnt care about any of us!”
“She was your *mother*,” Grandma snapped. “Even if things were bad, you still owe her respect!”
“Respect? For what?” Anna shot back, irritation flaring. “After Dad died, she checked out completely! You and Aunt Zoe raised us, not her. She chose the bottle over her own kids!”
“But maybe” Grandma sighed, struggling for words. “Maybe she was suffering. Grief broke her.”
“Suffering?” Anna laughed bitterly. “Theres suffering, and then theres giving up. She couldve kept living, kept fighting for us. Instead, she drowned in self-pity. We were just excuses for another drink.”
The memories stung. Years of neglect, of watching her mother ignore every milestone, every heartbreak. The indifference had cut deeper than anger ever could.
Dad had always smoothed things over, but without him, life became unbearable. It was Aunt Zoe who stepped in, moving them all to her place in another town. A fresh startyet the guilt and shame never left. How could she feel such hatred for her own mother? Wasnt a mother meant to love unconditionally?
But reality always dragged her backthe memories of feeling unwanted, abandoned. The wounds never healed.
Finally, Grandma had placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand, love, I do. But sometimes saying goodbye helps. Maybe going back will let you forgive herlet *yourself* move on.”
“No,” Anna had said flatly. “I wont go. Dont ask me again.”
Now, Grandma was gone too.
Anna returned from her hometown, turning it all over in her mind. The past had rushed back, filling the hollow space left by her fathers death. She wanted to leave the bitterness behind, to step into a new chapter.
Grandma *had* been right. Forgiving didnt mean forgettingit meant freeing herself from the weight of old pain. There would still be struggles ahead, but now Anna felt ready to face them, unshackled from the past.
This trip had changed everything. She could live freely now, holding onto the good memoriesthe love, the lightand letting the rest go.
