I knew right away when my fingers curled around the fabric, I had found my old prom dress, and my heart just broke to pieces.

Why had I kept this so long? I wondered.

I remembered that night, and Joe, the happiness we shared for a few brief hours.

There was the summer after the prom. Joe went to college across the country; I stayed in Centerville, got a job, threw my dreams away. He married someone else. I married Bob. Happy enough I guess.

I pulled out the dress. Faded over the years.

With a sigh I tossed it into the Goodwill bag. After 40 years, time to move on.