**Diary Entry**
Grandma was right after all.
It took Anna years to finally make up her mind. After her beloved grandmothers funeral, something inside her shifted. With sudden resolve, she grabbed her phone, looked up the train schedule, and booked a ticket back to her hometown. She had to face the pastone last timeand decide for good whether to let go.
The train rushed through endless fields and woodlands, the familiar landscapes of her childhood blurring past the window. Lost in thought, Anna wondered if forgiveness might truly lighten the weight she carried. Grandma had always said letting go of grudges was the only way to move forward.
Her heart pounded as the train pulled into the tiny station of her old town. Her legs felt leaden, each step uncertain, as if resisting the path ahead. She moved slowly, pausing every few paces to steady her breath.
Then, there it wasthe small, weathered cottage where shed once lived, where her mother had later died. The place looked abandonedwindows papered over, shutters creaking in the wind. A sharp ache gripped Annas chest as memories rushed backhappier times with her father and brothers. Those were the only threads still tying her to this place. A heavy padlock hung on the door. One tug, and the whole thing might splinter apart. But she didnt test it. Instead, she sank onto the rickety porch, sitting for hours, turning everything over in her mind. Then, abruptly, she stood and walked back to the station. Had it helped? Yes. She felt lighter, as if her soul had shrugged off the last of its bitterness.
Ten years earlier, Anna had sat at her desk, staring blankly at her computer screen. Her mind drifted back to a childhood that now felt foreign and painful. Absently, she fiddled with an old school pen still lying around.
Her father was gone forever, leaving behind three children and a wife drowning in grief. Anna remembered it vividlythe stale reek of cheap alcohol, her mothers endless tears, her older brothers constant complaints. And her, just a lost little girl of five, clinging to Grandmas knees, feeling utterly alone. No more bedtime stories, no more gentle hands smoothing her hair.
*Why then?* shed often wondered. Why did fate take him when theyd needed him most?
Then, years later, the news cameher mother had died.
*”Are you even going to the funeral?”* Grandmas voice had been sharp, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she glared at Anna in disapproval.
Anna had looked up from her screen, her gaze icy. *”Why would I? I hated her. She turned into a monsterdidnt care about any of us!”*
*”She was still your mother!”* Grandma snapped. *”Even if things were bad, respect and remembrance matter.”*
*”Respect?”* Anna scoffed. *”After Dad died, she couldnt even take care of us. It was all on you and Aunt Jane. She chose the bottle over her own kids!”*
Grandma sighed. *”Maybe she was suffering. Grief broke her.”*
*”Suffering?”* Annas bitter laugh stung. *”People handle pain differently. You either keep livingraising your childrenor you drown in self-pity. She chose the second.”*
The memories still stung. Years of neglect, anger, helplessness. Her mother had ignored every milestone, every heartbreak. The indifference had left wounds that never healed.
Dad had always softened the edges, but without him, life had become unbearable. His sister, Aunt Jane, had stepped in, moving them all to her home in a different town. A fresh startbut the guilt and shame lingered. How could she despise her own mother? Wasnt a mother supposed to love unconditionally?
Yet the memories always dragged her backthe coldness, the abandonment, the ache of feeling unwanted.
Then Grandma had placed a hand on her shoulder. *”I understand, love. But sometimes, saying goodbye helps. Maybe going would let you forgive herand yourself.”*
*”No,”* Anna had said sharply. *”Im not going. Dont ask me again.”*
Now, Grandma was gone too.
Returning home, Anna turned everything over in her mind. The past no longer felt like a chain. She wanted to shed the anger, the hurtto step forward unburdened.
Grandma had been right all along. Forgiveness wasnt about the other person; it was about freeing yourself. Anna knew challenges still lay ahead, but now she faced them with open handsready for whatever came next.
This trip had been a turning point. She could live freely now, cherishing the good memories while leaving the rest behind.
