Chapter 13: The Echoes

Chapter 13: The Echoes
Healing was not a straight line. There were days when a sudden loud noise—a car backfiring, a door slamming too hard—would send me spiraling back into panic. PTSD was a heavy ghost that lingered in the corners of my mind.
But I refused to let it win. I began attending intense trauma therapy. Through the guidance of my therapist, I learned to separate the past from the present. I learned that my scars were not a sign of my weakness, but proof that I had survived a war fought behind closed doors.
I started writing. I poured every ounce of my pain, my fear, and my ultimate triumph onto paper, turning my trauma into a weapon for healing.