it only hurts when i laugh

-𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥-

"How should I forgive?" she asked one day while we're resting on the couch.

I looked at her, from my hands buried in her hair to her large adoring eyes. I smiled. "You resign all negative feelings—the anger, the hate, and the urge to take revenge. Take them to the stars and leave them there. That way, the stars will hold these feelings together and burn them away. When you forgive, you take your burdens with you and pour them into the sea. That way, the currents will sweep them to far-off places. You should march to a cliff and drop them into the great depths. Forgiveness is like throwing these feelings into the air and letting the winds carry them away.

"Because when you forgive, you are actually letting go. You are letting the course of life rid you of your feelings. Forgiveness isn't a one-time event. It takes weeks, months, and some people, years. Do you know why?"

She pouted. "Why?"

"Because letting go is hard. In anything. We love our possessions even though they are already hurting us. We love the anger, the pain, the sadness, and the hate. We love what we cultivate, so letting them go is like chopping off an arm we claim we need."

"But we need to be angry about certain things. We should."

She crossed her arms and leaned into me.

"True. But dwelling on these harms you. They kill you. We can be angry. We can hate. We can feel sad. We can be human. But that doesn't mean we get to stay that way. Eventually, we have to move on. We have to let go."

She nodded. "So I should forgive by letting go?"

I smiled again. "That, and making sure there's still room for love."