Vanilla

and finally

one morning

she woke up

and didn’t miss him anymore

and she put cream and sugar in her coffee

instead of tears

she went to a bookstore by herself

and read the last chapter of seventy-six novels

she threw away the cigarettes

and poured the red wine down the sink

she walked to a local café

ate lunch alone

and paid the tab for a stranger

while window shopping

she found herself staring at every pink sundress

so she bought three

and replaced the dark rags in her closet

that night she watched the sunset from her roof

and it became a prayer

she drank vanilla tea before going to sleep

and never again did she miss him.