one thing was certain.

She was strong.  But he had broken her.  He tore her to pieces--she was exposed, vulnerable, and alone.  She was intact on the outside--she deceived people into believing that she was okay.  But her mind was a raging storm.  The memories of him broke her--they started inside, but she didn't know if she could contain them any longer.  

So she let go.  She allowed sadness to leak from her eyes.  She allowed pain to swallow her broken body. She allowed all the hurt to expel itself from her throat.  And she faced it alone--she didn't allow people to see her  weak and vulnerable, she did her best to hold it together around them.  

She started to gain her strength back again--but it came slowly.  She inched forward, but it seemed that an unseen force pressed tight against her trying to force her back.  She turned to the storm outside for comfort.

The little drops of water kissed her face as they fell from the sky.  They ran down her face and washed away the tears that slipped from her eyes.  The thunder rang in her ears and covered up the sound of her  frustrated cries.  The lightning flashed over her eyes and covered memories of him.  The storm protected her.  It was the only comfort she had left. The storm started to wash away the pain, but the scars were still there, and they always would be.

She left that storm stronger than she had entered.  She felt herself changing, every memory was becoming less painful.  She was alone, but she started to enjoy the comfort of silence.  Her life began to mold her into a new person, a strong person.  She left that storm knowing that one day she would be okay.

"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive.  You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over.  But one thing is certain.  When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in."