**The Trial of the Heart**

Emma jolted awake, dazed and squinting in the intense light overhead. She was sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of a big, darkly lighted courtroom instead of in her bed. Tension was in the air, and she could feel all the eyes staring at her.

The room was enormous, with pictures of strangers on the walls that she had never seen before, all of them staring at her with a mixture of contempt and sympathy. She found herself with her hands resting on a weathered wooden table, dressed simply in a white gown. A podium was in front of her, and behind it loomed a shadowy judge's bench.

She said, her voice resonating uncannily in the quiet room, "Where am I?"

"You are in the Court of the Heart," a rich, rich voice from behind the bench announced. Hiding in shadows, the judge bent forward, exposing nothing but the silhouette of a person dressed in black. "Here, we will examine the choices you've made in matters of love, and determine whether you shall continue down the path you’ve chosen or break free."

Emma felt her heart quicken. It must have been a dream. However, everything seemed too bright and genuine.

She noticed a rustling sound to her right. When she turned, she saw a jury box full of people she recognized—people she had once loved. She recognized each one, her breath stuck in her throat. She saw Mark, her sweetheart from high school, with his kind grin; she saw David, her charming college boyfriend who had broken her heart; and there were other people, each symbolizing a different period of her romantic past. She had a feeling of fear at the sight of them together.

"We will begin with the opening statement," the judge said once more. The relationship you are now in is the reason you are here. Is the cost of your love for him really worth it, is the issue this court is asking."

Emma's thoughts raced. She considered Ryan, the man she had been seeing for the previous twelve months. Although their relationship had begun happily, it had gradually evolved into something more oppressive and unpleasant. She had steadily lost her identity due to Ryan's jealousy and craving for control. Despite his shortcomings, she had persuaded herself that she could redeem him and their love would be sufficient to keep him around.

"Why am I here?" Emma questioned, her voice faltering.

"To face the reality," the magistrate answered. "Let the first viewer take the stand."

A silhouette emerged from the darkness. It was Mark, with his sorrow-filled but gentle eyes. Emma felt her heart pound at seeing him. He was the boy who had been her first love; he had shown her kindness and dignity.

The judge gave Mark instructions to tell the court about his relationship with the defendant.

Mark gave a nod, keeping his eyes fixed on Emma. "We were in love and young. Though I wasn't prepared for the level of devotion she desired, she was everything to me. I thought she deserved more, someone who could truly give her everything, so I broke up with her.I had no wish to harm her..

Emma bit her lip, recollections welling up. Although she had been heartbroken when Mark stopped things, she had eventually come to understand his reasoning. Even while it had hurt, he had always been honest and had never made her feel insignificant or unworthy.

"Do you believe she made the right choice in staying with her current partner?" inquired the magistrate.

Mark paused. "Not at all. She deserves to be loved unconditionally and to not have her value questioned."

Tears filled Emma's eyes. She had always questioned whether she had given up and allowed herself to become involved in something harmful out of a fear of being alone herself.

"Mark, thank you," the judge said. "Next witness."

David came next, his arrogant smile unaffected by time. Emma experienced a flash of nostalgia and rage. Although David was endearing and thrilling, at the end of the day, he was self-centered. She was devastated and began to doubt herself after he had cheated on her.

"David," the judge responded, "what can you tell us about your time with the defendant?"

With mischievous sparkles in his eyes, David reclined on his chair. "I enjoyed the challenge that Emma presented. However, I was foolish and young. I damaged her more than I meant to in the end, even though I believed I could have it all."

Emma balled her fists, recalling how embarrassing it had been to learn of his betrayal. Despite her intense affection for him, he had handled it like a game.

"Would you say she is repeating old patterns with her current partner?" said the arbitrator.

David gave a shrug. "I believe she is afraid. She is refusing to feel the agony of letting go, therefore she is clinging to something that is hurting her."

Emma felt her stomach turn. Was she acting in that manner? Relying on Ryan not out of love but out of fear?

The judge's voice pierced her innermost thoughts. It's time for you to testify, Emma.

."

She moved to the podium, standing on unsteady legs. She could see the love of her past in their eyes; each one was a piece of her heart that she had lost. A shadowy form of the judge hovered above her, waiting.

The judge asked, his voice now softer, almost empathetic, "Why do you stay with him?"

Emma inhaled deeply. "Since I cherish him. I believed our love could transform him, and that I could help him. However... Her tone wavered. But it hasn't been easy. I've let go of parts of who I am in an attempt to satisfy him."

The judge asked, "And what do you want, Emma?".

"I want to be loved for who I am," she whispered, allowing her tears to stream down her cheeks. "I want to feel secure rather than like I have to tread carefully all the time. However, I'm terrified of being by myself."

Emma saw her face, the judge's face, for the first time as he leaned forward. With pain and comprehension in her eyes, she saw her own image staring back at her.

The judge, her inner voice, spoke softly, "You hold the power to free yourself." "But it is a choice only you can make."

Emma turned to face the judge after glancing around the courtroom at the faces of the people she had loved and lost. It was obvious what was true. Because she didn't think she deserved better, she had been torturing herself by continuing in a relationship that was steadily hurting her.

However, she did. That was something she had to believe.

Emma steadied her voice and continued, "I choose to let go." "I choose to love myself enough to walk away."

The faces of her former loves vanished into thin air, and the courtroom started to melt away around her. The judge grinned, a hopeful and accepting smile.

Emma was back in her bed when she woke up, the morning light coming in through the window. She felt a sense of serenity for the first time in a long time as the weight on her chest had subsided. She was aware of her obligations.

It was time to part ways with Ryan and start her own healing process.