I glance up at the bright blue balloon hovering above me.

It brings back memories of my childhood, when I was naive and innocent, when I trusted everyone wholeheartedly, when I listened and believed every single word spoken to me.

 

I close my eyes as a single tear slides down my left cheek.

 

Pain is all I feel.

People say that when your heart breaks, it's like being ripped to shreds. What I feel is one hundred times worse.

Tears begin making their way down my face as I hear my unheard screams, cries of pain, and feel my heart slowly breaking apart, one piece at a time. The process is painful and slow.

 

I open my eyes and stare at my mother's retreating figure, betrayal and hurt evident in my eyes.

 

I never wanted it to turn out like this. I believed we would all stay together, through thick and thin. I knew we would have little arguments here and there, but never anything like this.

 

Then, she turns around. The moment only lasts for a second, yet it seems much longer. A spark of hope ignites within me, threatening to burst into something greater, something more dangerous.

However, I calm my racing heart and slowly breathe in and out, waiting for the words to slip out of .

 

What I hear next is enough to crush all my hopes, dreams, wishes, and will.

 

 

I'm disappointed.

I'm disappointed.

I'm disappointed.

Disappointed.

 

Those two words echo within my brain as I try to register what has just happened.

Then I realize.

I'm no longer living in the ideal world I have carved out for myself.

I'm no longer living in my dreams.

 

This is reality.

 

I sink to the ground as she turns her back to me and resumes walking. I pull the string of the balloon with me and cry silently as I hold onto the balloon, the remnants of what could have been, should have been, would have been.

 

 

 

I can only hope tomorrow will be better. Or I will close my eyes, forget, and hope tomorrow will never come.