Breaking Up With My Braided Anklet

I wore this braided anklet for 7 straight years without ever taking it off. EVER.

It was only last night that I accidentally ripped it off when I scratched my right ankle. I was talking to a friend of mine over the phone when it happened, so the sadness didn't kick in yet.

Well, it has now.

Isn't it amazing how you can actually hold on to wear something without ever taking it off? That anklet hung on to me with every fiber of its being, not letting anything come between us. Not jeans, not socks, not sandy beaches, not typhoons, not soap, nothing.

But, I don't know, it just gave up last night. It came off easily with just a scratch of an itch I couldn't ignore. For 7 years, it stayed there, wrapped around my ankle, but it only took one unpremeditated act to throw all that out. I guess it just had to happen.

My braided anklet had several siblings, but they didn't last long. It doesn't have a name, and I don't think it needs one. The moments, the secrets, those are the things I'll remember it by. But I'm sure, it won't be forgotten right away. For the next few weeks or so, it will be like having a phantom leg: I'll feel it's there but it's not.

Okay fine, yes. I do have a choice, and it's not too late. I can tie it back up and pretend that nothing happened. But now, I'm having second thoughts. Realizing that it has so much meaning to me, it all suddenly seemed so tough.

But, I think it's about time to finally let it go, let things go. I don't think we should hold on to our past that long, anyway. It can mess up our present and future, and when that happens it's excruciatingly hard to iron things out.

I guess this is goodbye, then. I hope you become fashionable again.

Note: The photo is mine.