In a fairy tale true love has always been a constant. They teach you that when people fall in love they get married and live happily ever after the end. But we don't live in a fairy tale, we live in the real world. In the real world you only get a happily ever after when the universe allows you to, when you fight for it and never give up. And on a very specific day in my past, I could tell that the universe was not on my side.

The universe is complicated to say the least, but when it doesn’t allow you a happy ending with the one you think you love you give up and that’s not the universe’s fault. How do I know? Personal experience. It’s what my parents taught me when they got divorced. When they left each other. When they went their separate ways. When they gave up.

People say that they’ve got it rough. They don't remember when their parents were together. They don't remember seeing the shimmer of metal ignite on the knuckle of their ring fingers. But I do. I remember every single step they took, farther and farther away from each other. I remember standing in the middle of the great divide and not being able to decide which way to turn.

Why is daddy leaving? I wonder to myself, small hands pressed against the chilled glass of my living room window. He’s not supposed to be working today. I hear feet shuffle across the wooden floor and I look over my shoulder to see my mom standing behind me. Silently watching. Mommy’s angry, I note the V shaped line on her forehead and I’m completely oblivious to what the reason could be. Is she mad because daddy’s leaving? Or is she upset because I’m supposed to be napping?
        

I take my mommy’s hand. She looks down at me. Her eyes framed with purple rings and her blonde hair tousled into tangles. Mommy’s tired. She just put Mason to sleep. I bet when she wakes up she’ll be sad because daddy left and when she’s sad she makes noise and water falls from her small blue eyes. I hope she doesn’t wake up.
“Don’t worry momma, daddy will be back for dinner like every night time.” I say giggling, but she only smiles softly at me and uses her free hand to pet my head as if trying to comfort our dog that lays on the floor nearby. I walk over to the couch and watch as mommy turns on the T.V.  I giggle excitedly, Barney, a show about a large purple dinosaur, is on yay!  And I wait for daddy to return, but that night he never did. And then Mason woke up.
     

The Webster dictionary states that the word divorce means ‘The ending of a marriage by a legal process.’ My parents did this to each other. My parents put me through this. When I was younger I didn't care whether or not I was being selfish when I told them that they ruined my life.
       

As Carl.E. Pickhardt, from www.psycologytoday.com, says “Divorce usually causes a child's ability to do things on their own to intensify.” I had to grow up faster than a normal female child and leave my childhood behind to become a more mature young lady who could take care of herself and protect her little sister.
        

It's written on www.divorcesupport.com that “ In a situation involving more than one child, experts feel that it's usually best to keep all siblings together.” I half to admit that I was very lucky to have been able to stay with my sister. Even when she's annoying, I know that I can never hate her, because sisters are forever. Rev. Dogood from www.divorcesource.com, says it's a known fact that ‘ 50% of marriages fail' and I couldn't help but think that, that was unfair.
      

Next thing I know I'm no longer four I'm now six. I'm with my daddy and my sister in a small green house, it's too small for us, but today is mommy's day and soon I will be home, I never like to leave home for long. Then once more a flash of nothingness and I am 10. Momma is with a man that has a short but dark beard and mustache. Daddy is living in a three-story apartment, a big three-story house with the wall through the middle, and lots of stairs, but he's lonely.
       

He says he's happy because he has us, but I know. I always knew, ever since I was eight years old I noticed that my daddy never seem to be interested in any other woman he met. He never tried to meet them. He never tried to create that type of relationship with anyone. Mommy and daddy are arguing over who gets us for Christmas. I bet Santa put both of them on the naughty list.
        

Whoosh! I'm 13 and my mom is working late nights and early mornings and I'm feeding my sister breakfast and dinner. My dad is paying rent and buying food while I babysit my little sister. They both spoil us, me and my sister, but it doesn't make life any easier. I always have to be the strong one. Never let it get me down. But even though I don’t show it, sometimes it does. And then I feel sad.
       

I might have been a different person if they had stayed together. I might have been a more open generous person or maybe greedy and spoiled. But the sad thing is, I will never be able to know what kind of life I might of been able to live. Some people say they have it rough. That they can't remember when their parents were together or when they split up, but I do. I remember it all, I remember the division of furniture and photos. I remember the fight over custody. I remember every single stupid argument. And let me just tell you, remembering is so much worse.
       

Some people cry because they lost a parent, but to me feels like I lost both. I’m a lost soul walking among the living. But here I am writing this and maybe even reading this to you. I'm not crying. Not only have I changed since then but so have my parents. And I miss them so much.
      

Looking back on that memory now, I can definitely see that without the great divide, I wouldn't have become the person I am now. I’m me because they split up, I’m me because they gave up. I don't want to be anyone but me. I can't imagine being anyone else. But even though I love myself and I love my parents, I still can't get over the fact that I know that they’re different.
       

I was affected by them in both a positive and negative way. Some days I can forget these memories, but other days I can still remember the distant sound of loud harsh words bombarding each other from opposite sides of the room. But the thing is I still love them and I always will. Even though they no longer feel the same way for each other. What kind of happy ending will the universe give you? Will you give up?