Measuring Healing Through Pain

There's a letter sitting on my desk. I've read it so many times that I know every word

by heart. The paper's worn soft at the edges, creased from being folded and unfolded

over and over. Today, I'm opening it again. ________________________________________ Why do we keep going

back to the things that hurt us? We tell ourselves we're looking for closure,

or maybe hoping the pain will be less this time. But deep down, we know that's not

really why. ________________________________________ I still remember the first time I read this letter.

My hands were shaking. Every sentence felt like a punch to the chest. I must have read

it three or four times that day, maybe more. And somehow, reading it became