I take the first sip of my vodka, letting the liquid burns before swallowing it. I'm still not used to the taste of it. But then again, I only drink when I feel my throat has been dry from all the words I spit out. Words always spoken, but never heard.

Seconds later, I hear a female, familiar, voice coming near me and calling out my name.

"Georgina!"

I turn around, finding my old neighboor's luminous smile greeting me.

"Oh Emilia, hey," I hop off my stool and give her a fleeting hug. "I missed you, girl." She returns the hug and joins me on the stool next to mine.

"How are you doing, Georgina? how is college? How is Josh?" she smiles warmly and orders a drink.

It was a simple typical question, right? So why I'm not capable of responding?

"Good, the usual, you know," I chose to lie.

This is what I've been doing anyway. Feeding false hope, believing the lie, and hoping that it will one day outshine the harsh reality.

"How about you? when is the wedding taking place? don't forget to keep me a table next to the bride, huh." I joke, wanting to speak about something lighter.

"Oh, I'm not getting married. We broke up," she says calmly and takes a sip of her cocktail. But I was caught off guard to answer her right away.

Emilia has been with her man for more than seven years. She was clinging to him and loving him with all parts of her being. I remember when they argued, she would come to me and cry out until she passed out on the sofa. Everyone knew about their incredible love. And I personally witnessed it.

"Emilia, what happened, are you okay?" I say quietly, partly waiting for her to break down as she always does.

"I'm fine, Goergina," she smiles again. And the smile was...genuine?

"Really, I've never been better, the first months after the breakup were super hard, I thought I wasn't gonna make it. But then my mind was taking control over my heart day after day, showing me that the way I was seeing Mark was not who he really was. It was the illusion my heart and eyes chose to see because I was madly in love."

I stay silent, listening as she speaks so peacefully. Like she had always been trapped, like that love had never existed, like those restless nights were already forgotten.

"I chose to ignore all the pain that relationship inflicts. I chose to believe that no one else would love me besides Mark. I chose to believe that I had a responsibilty over him. I chose him over me, every single day, Georgina. And that was the stupidest thing I've ever done." she ends her drink in one gulp. " I fell hard in the first days, yes. But it was the right thing to do in order to find my wings back. I'm happy I left him, I'm happy I'm living a life in which he's not the center of it."

My lips tremble and my eyes well up in tears. I know her enough to realize she's not lying to me --or to herself, she's just happier than ever.

The tears in my eyes had nothing to do with empathy. I was just feeling like she's speaking for me. Like she's telling me more than she intends to.

she turns her face to me and gives me a reassuring smile before squeezing my hand. As if understanding the words I was desperately telling Josh.

"Don't be afraid to choose a different path, Georgina. Open your eyes to reality and throw the blade that tears your heart apart. You deserve to have a life."