A thoughtful silence fell between them until Amala declared with all sincerity, “I feel ready to let him go, to completely let him go. I cannot deny my feelings, and, as I said, I believe a part of me will always love him. But I’ve felt the nature of my love shift inside of me. I truly want him to be happy, and the idea of him marrying someone else is not nearly so painful as it once was. It’s as if . . . the attraction I felt and the romantic notions we shared, have settled into a more solid and mature kind of love. I sincerely feel I can wish him all the best and mean it.”

“And again I say that you have come far,” Paulina declared.

As a perfect conclusion to their conversation, sounds of celebration floated up from the café. A large group was obviously making a toast to honor someone, followed by the sound of clinking glasses and cheering. The two women stood and went to the balcony to look down. The celebration centered around an elderly couple who had obviously been together many years; this was likely a wedding anniversary, and they were surrounded by a large group of family and friends. The violinist began a lively tune, and members of the anniversary party took advantage of the music to start dancing in the street, making Amala smile. To observe such beauty and joy in the good things of life lifted her spirits and added to the serenity of which Paulina had spoken.

It was not many days later that Amala’s declarations of being ready to let go of Henry were put to the test. She received a letter from Kat in which she joyfully shared with Amala the news that she was engaged to be married. Amala could feel nothing but joy for her sister, except for the sentence in the letter she had to keep reading over and over to try to convince herself that the words really said what they did.

I hope it will not come as too big a surprise to you, and that you’ll be happy for me, when I tell you that it is Henry who has won my heart, and I’ve grown to love him so dearly that I can’t imagine how I ever existed with the absence of such feelings.