heartbreak

Sue wanted to be happy, but she wasn't. Her love life with Mike had turned stale. She wanted to feel excitement when Mike was around. But she no longer did. She wished he'd embrace her like he used to, tell her how beautiful she was, and tell her he loved her, looking her in the eyes, not at the paper.

Every morning, Sue served Mike breakfast, handed him a cup of coffee, and carefully placed his lunch inside his sturdy briefcase. Every morning she drove him to work in their one save the environment car. And every morning, Sue lightly kissed Mike goodbye, and told him to have a nice day, that she'd see him later. Mike grunted likewise.

One morning, as Sue was returning home from dropping Mike off, she stopped the car to watch the sun rise, as it climbed higher and higher. It was so bright, like fire, burning away the fog that had collected throughout the night. The beginning of a new day, she thought, as tears began to flow down her cheeks, mourning the fact that for the first time in thirty years of marriage, she thought about leaving Mike.