Faith of a woman

THE VOICE WITHIN

Tania sat at the dining table, David’s card resting between her fingers. She hadn’t put it down since she got back.

Not because she didn’t want to.

But because letting it go felt like letting go of something important.

“Still holding it?”

Evelyn’s voice came softly as she walked into the room.

Tania looked up, slightly startled. “Mum…”

Evelyn’s eyes dropped to the card, then back to her daughter’s face.

“Who is he?”

Tania hesitated.

Then exhaled slowly.

“Someone I was supposed to marry.”

That caught Evelyn’s attention.

She pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.

“Supposed to?” she asked gently.

Tania nodded.

“His name is David,” she said quietly. “We were… serious. He was ready. Stable. Certain.”

Evelyn tilted her head slightly. “But?”

Tania looked down at the card.

“I didn’t feel what I felt with Ethan,” she admitted. “It wasn’t intense. It wasn’t… overwhelming.”

“And so you chose the man who made your heart race,” Evelyn said calmly.

Tania gave a small, sad smile. “Yes.”

Silence lingered between them.

But it wasn’t judgmental.

It was understanding.

“And now he’s back?” Evelyn asked.

Tania nodded again. “I ran into him today.”

“And how did that feel?”

That question made her pause.

Because the answer wasn’t simple.

“Safe,” she said finally.

Evelyn’s brows lifted slightly.

“Seen,” Tania added.

Then after a brief pause

“Confusing.”

Evelyn smiled faintly. “That sounds about right.”

Tania leaned back in her chair, running her hand through her hair.

“I don’t know what to do, Mum,” she admitted. “I don’t even know if I should let him back into my life.”

Evelyn didn’t rush to answer.

She folded her hands calmly on the table, thinking.

“Do you want him back in your life?” she asked.

Tania frowned slightly. “That’s the problem… I don’t know.”

Evelyn nodded slowly.

“Then don’t answer that question yet.”

Tania blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Right now, you’re vulnerable,” Evelyn explained. “You’re hurt. You’re searching for stability, for peace, for something that makes sense again.”

She leaned in slightly.

“And David feels like that.”

Tania’s chest tightened.

Because it was true.

“But that doesn’t mean he’s your answer,” Evelyn continued. “It means he’s a reminder.”

“A reminder of what?” Tania asked softly.

“Of who you were before you lost yourself.”

That hit differently.

Tania looked down at her hands.

At the card.

At everything she had been holding onto.

“So what should I do?” she asked.

Evelyn reached across the table, placing her hand gently over Tania’s.

“Don’t rush into anything,” she said. “Not love. Not decisions. Not even closure.”

Tania looked up at her.

“Let him be in your life,” Evelyn continued, “but don’t make him your life.”

Those words settled deep.

“Talk to him. Learn from him. Grow with what he reminds you of,” she added. “But don’t use him to heal what someone else broke.”

Tania nodded slowly.

Taking it in.

Understanding it.

“And Ethan?” she asked quietly.

Evelyn’s expression softened.

“That choice will come,” she said. “But when it does, make sure it comes from strength… not pain.”

Silence followed.

But this time....

It felt right.

Later that night, Tania stood by the window again.

But she wasn’t the same woman from before.

Her phone rested in her hand.

David’s card beside it.

She took a deep breath.

Then picked up her phone.

Her fingers hovered for a moment…

Before she finally typed.

“Hi, David. It was good seeing you today.”

She stared at the message.

Then pressed send.

A small step.

But a powerful one.

She placed the phone down gently, her heart calm.

Not racing.

Not confused.

Just… steady.

And for the first time in a long time...

Tania wasn’t reacting to life.

She was choosing it.