User:Dean Dudley Dweltz007/sandbox

The ugly reason of ‘DIVORCE’ Cyndi’s' tears fell as she heard the words that she feared the most from the court that rang in her ears. Her mother and father would finalize their divorce in less than a month. She always longed to run to the safety of her room. But, still she sat on the edge of the couch in her hall room, with her dad one her left and her mom on her right. The tasty scent of baked cookies, warm, just baked from the oven, circled around her nose. A holiday decoration that was put up in the house flashed on and off in the picturesque window at the front of their warm, comfortable house. At least that was how it seemed until that moment. She thought back over the past two months and realized the signs did not seem to fall into place. No loud fights, hushed tears or a sudden vanishing of her dad occurred. What she remembered was the silence, stony looks, grim mouths set in place without any feeling. Now, she knew why those would be the final memories of the year that stood ahead. She also knew they both loved her at least that was what they said, right after the big divorce word. A wave of emotions rocketed through her ten year old body and she practically launched herself from the dimmed room. Her mom's hand flew out to reach her, to grasp her arm and pull her back. She escaped it, yet not before tears fell from her mom's eyes. Cyndi heard these and felt glad, although a nagging guilt instantly filled her heart. During the night, Cyndi struggled to sleep. She needed sleep, yet it would not come. Throwing back the covers, she sat on the edge of her bed. She leaned on one of the white, solid posts at the corners of the bed. They did not give, and she felt safe. She felt what she wanted to feel with her parents, but knew she would never feel again. The very next morning, she got up from her half slumber and helped her dad carry boxes to his car. She was totally torn and confused about what was going on. One minute she cried and the next, she stared without a care. Her mom stayed away until all of the boxes were filled in the tiny car, and the man she promised to love forever, the man she married, drove away to start a new life with another woman. Cyndi did not know why they needed a divorce to take place. She only knew she hated it to happen. She also hated the sadness she watched crawl over her mom's face every time her dad called up at home. Her mom would stop what she did, disappear into a nearby room and wait and burst into tears thinking of exactly what went wrong. Cyndi did the talking and when she hung up the phone, she always reached for the tissues. She slipped them under the door, feeding her bits of comfort. Time and time again till time passed this way until the New Year began and little Cyndi returned to school. All her school friends arrived, chatted about all the gifts they had received and all of the fun they had in the snow. Cyndi lived a few blocks away and suffered from a terrible head cold during the final weeks of the holiday vacation. When they asked her how she enjoyed the holiday and what all gifts she received, she told them the only gift she received was a divorce. Staring, everyone around her asked her what she meant. She repeated it and ran off to get inside the warmth of the school. During the day, all of her school colleagues passed notes to her begging her to explain. She did by saying she felt like her parent’s divorce was a divorce for her too. She felt that nothing was the same, nothing was normal and her parents ripped her old life away to create some new life she did not want. All her school friends bought her extra milk, and even shared their desserts with her at lunch. Quiet words and sympathetic glances flew all around the group. Maggie, her best friend at school, even offered to let her stay with them for a while. Cyndi nodded and said yes and her friends called during a break. Naturally, her parents needed to discuss it. When she went back home, she found a note from her mom instructing her to go to Ms Martin's house. Cyndi never ever liked that the woman, and dreaded this request. The woman let her in after she rapped on the door for the third time. Cold, unrelenting wind nipped at her bare fingers, and made her nose ache. Once inside, she received instructions about not disturbing Mr Martin as he napped, and enjoyed a cup of warm cocoa. She accepted it with a half smile and started on her homework. That night, Cyndi's mom explained she needed to return to work so they would have the money to pay bills. Cyndi would go to Ms Martin's every day until her mom arrived home. Cyndi groaned, yet quieted when she spotted a flinch from her mom. They ate in silence that night and for many after too. Their days sneak past without much change. Cyndi wondered if life could get any worse. Then it happened, the news that would change even more than the divorce did. Cyndi's mom found someone new. They dated in secret, her mom being afraid of how she might react. Now, just ten months after the day her dad left forever, they moved the three of them. They travelled across the country to California. Cyndi could not control her tears and cried the whole way there, and all during the moving process. She cried all night and most of the next two days. Finally, on the first day at her new school, she met with a counselor, a Mrs. Barrette. They sat in the counselor's newly painted office and pondered the issues girls like Cyndi faced. Finally, they talked about the divorce, her feelings, and her new stepfather. She shared her fears, worries and anger. How dare her mom date without telling her? And, how dare she move her across the country to live with some guy who did not even know her favorite color! Tears built inside her until they poured from deep inside her broken heart. Ms Barrette listened, nodded, jotted a few notes and offered her a box of pink tissues. They met every day during lunch, until the tears slowed. Cyndi's curiosity with the chess team grew and eventually she joined. Her stepfather learned more about her, and she about him. Her dad called at least two or three times a week, and her mom stayed in the room. Together, and separated, the four of them grew stronger; her mom, stepfather and Cyndi herself, as a family, and her dad as a part that would never go away. That year, she learned a lot about life, surfing, chess and change. She learned that some days the tears fell hard and fast, and that other days they did not fall at all. She learned to use her anger in a positive way through martial arts. Most important, she learned to accept the people in her life for who they are, and that life would continue whether she was happy about what happened, mad or sad.