The Breakup Playlist

She left me on a Tuesday. I came home and found the apartment half-empty. She had left a note: "I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore."\n\nFor the first week, I didn't listen to any music. The silence was punishment.\n\nThen, on the eighth day, I played the first song on shuffle. It was our song — the one we danced to at our wedding. I listened to it three times, crying on the couch.\n\nAnd then I made a playlist. Called it "Letting Go."\n\nIt started with sad songs. Adele. Bon Iver. Then came angrier songs. Fiona Apple. Alanis Morissette. Then songs about moving on. Lizzo. Dua Lipa. And finally, the hopeful songs.\n\nI listened to that playlist every day for three months. It charted my healing, track by track. By the time I got to the end, I was ready to start living again.\n\nI still have that playlist. I listen to it sometimes, not because I'm sad, but because I want to remember how far I've come.