Status Updates From The Trouble with Sunshine

She didn’t have to travel this road alone, and she was grateful for the village her mom had built for her, and the one she’d formed on her own.

Dorani took a shuddering breath, and her aunt continued, “Sometimes we resist just the thing that will help us heal. It’s like taking medicine. It might taste horrible, but in the end, it’s exactly what you need.”

Always listen to your gut, then your heart, and last to your brain,” said Tía Ivette, and Brad nodded.

----
“Why that order?” Dorani asked.

Because the gut is the most primitive part we have,” Tía Ivette said. “It’s our animal instinct that never lies. But then listen to your heart. What you desire to do is also important. When you consider the two voices, there might be a third.That’s your mind speaking. Listen to

Dorani wished she could’ve given her mom a hug to last her until they saw each other again, but since that wasn’t possible, she searched in her memory for all the hugs she’d received from her. There were millions to choose from. Some, she didn’t remember in her mind, but her whole being did, and she felt that warmth and love on her skin.

The horse closed the inch that separated them until their foreheads touched. Dorani didn’t know if horses formed thoughts like humans. But she knew they had emotions. Sunshine was still afraid and worried. She was still grieving the loss of her friends, her family. The loss of her person. She’d survived, but healing hurt. Healing was hard work.

Maybe they could do it together.

“No one can help us fill the space someone’s loss leaves in our hearts, but the arrival of other people—or animals—can help make sure those absences don’t hurt as much, no?” Tía Ivette continued and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Some people or animals make it easier to deal with. Maybe some things happen for a reason only destiny knows.”

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