This morning while riding the elevator, I was with a friend in it. And, I was holding a book. He looked at me and asked me with a smile on his face if I was holding a romance novel in my hand. I returned the smile, replying "No". I then proceeded to show him the cover of the book (It was Simon Cowell's autobiography, I Do Not Mean To Be Rude But...) and remarked, "I do not read romance novels because it never works out the way it seems in the books".

On the way home, while driving, the remark I made got me thinking. I used to devour those romance novels as I would when I see my favourite chocolate chip cookies. I enjoyed basking in the thought of how things would work out just fine in the end, where clearly it was not smooth sailing in the beginning, but differences were overcome and there it was: Happily ever after.

But, Reality mocks me. The truth could not be farther away from that.

In this world, there is no happily-ever-after. It is unheard of. I no longer believe in the cliche, "Time heals everything".

It does not.

Many times, those old wounds are just heaped beneath layers of work and stress thus we tend to ignore the pain. That does not mean recovery has taken place. Even if it manages to, the scars remain.