"And I thought I knew what pain was about," Maria chuckled at the irony.

It had been eight long years since Maria had felt true emotional distress...since Michael left her and she took on a new persona as Marianna. She'd forgotten how bad the pain could hurt. And she was happy with being ignorant to pain as Marianna. True, she hurt desperately when the aliens left to pursue their alleged destiny, but that was part of Maria's life...a life that no longer existed in Marianna's world. "Marianna," Maria thought. "How long did I even think I could keep up this act? Hiding behind a name? Denying myself of reality? I held so much hope that it could last forever."

She slouched on the taupe cushions of her couch and rested her throbbing head. She could not believe how badly fate had treated her in the past days. She prayed for the medication to numb her senses. Frustrated she slammed her hand against the arm of the couch only to have her senses reawakened with pain. She closed her eyelids and soon felt tears begin to sting her weary eyes. Before she had a moment to fight the dreaded reaction, she broke out in a much-needed cry. The weeping engulfed her completely, but each tear that escaped her eyes brought her that much closer to relief. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably with sobs. She didn't fight. Instead, she allowed the tears to flow freely down her face, occasionally wiping them from her cheeks with the sleeve of her blouse. The full-fledged uninhibited cry had been hiding in her heart for eight long years. Maria decided the time could not be more perfect to let it escape.

She cried for lost times that could never be regained or relived. She cried because no matter how strong a grip she held to the idea of hope, the pain she felt had an even stronger grip on her soul. She cried for her daughter. She cried because Hope had never been given the father she wanted, the father she needed, a father that was literally within reach. She cried for Michael because he had, once again, been deprived of the family he so rightfully deserved. But mainly she cried for everyone. For every single one of the lives of her friends that were based on the lie she fabricated. The lives were in disarray because she considered herself too weak to deal with real life.

Maria was thankful that Liz and Alex had taken Hope out for ice cream. They knew Maria would need some time alone to think. Maria didn't want Hope to see her mother in such a state. There would be too many questions that Maria didn't yet know how best to answer. She needed to be sure the answers wouldn't hurt Hope. Maria deemed Hope as the most precious thing in her life...and she would do anything to protect her, emotionally and physically. Even if it meant giving up her own happiness and her life as Marianna.

"Oh M'ija!! What's wrong? Porque esa carra triste?" Maria looked up to see Lupe standing right beside the couch. Maria hugged Lupe tightly.

"Oh Lupe!! I can't take this anymore. It's just too much!!!" Maria choked out between her tears.

Lupe rubbed Maria's back. She had never seen Marianna so fragile, so vulnerable. She had always been a strong, independent, dominant figure. Lupe knew Maria had always struggled and fought against something deep inside her soul...something that weighted her down and tried and tried to keep her from reaching the happiness she hoped to achieve, but she'd never known Marianna to expose that sorrowful side of her being.

Lupe continued to caress Maria's back and shoulders. "You know M'ija, sometimes you just have to let it out. I remember when I was a little girl, my papa used to tell me that tears, if you would let them, could purify your spirit...wash away the bad and make room for the good. And I never doubted my papa. He was a very wise man and his words always made me feel better. He said we need tears as much as we need laughter. When all your tears have come to an end and when all your laughter has ceased, you will stop living M'ija. Tears and laughter are life. So don't fight your tears, welcome them. They'll make room for you to laugh again soon." Lupe spoke softly hoping to encourage Maria to further explore the emotions stemming from her core.

"I just...I just wish that things were different, Lupe," Maria spoke leaning into Lupe's open arms. "I wish that the people I love didn't have to be caught up in the web of lies."

Lupe looked into Maria's red eyes hoping they would reveal some truth about Maria's undeniable pain.

Maria continued to speak. "There seems to be no escape," Maria mumbled through her sobs.

"What's stopping you, Marianna? What's stopping you from allowing happiness back in your life? We all are our own worst enemies when it comes to our happiness. Mientras que exista vida, existe la esperanza. La esperanza es la única cosa que nadie te podrá quitar." Lupe spoke wanting to help Marianna find her way back.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"As long as there is life, there is hope. Hope is the one thing that no one can ever take from you." Lupe pulled away and moved to sit next to Maria on the couch. She offered one last piece of advice. "It's time you started chasing hope as Maria, instead of Marianna." Lupe kissed Maria's forehead and stood to make her way back to the welcome-home dinner that was cooking in the kitchen. "I'm glad you're back. The house was empty without you. If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen."

Maria smiled. "Perhaps Lupe is right," she thought. "I need to pick up and move on with my life. Perhaps there is hope for me, yet...hope for Maria." She glanced at the Grammys that still sat in the doorway to the apartment where she'd left them when she arrived minutes earlier. "And there is plenty of hope for Marianna," she thought. "She does, after all, have the best album of the year!"

The phone rang and Maria announced, "I'll pick it up, Lupe."

She reached across to the end table and picked up the receiver. "Oh, please don't be Michael," she thought. "I am just not ready to confront him." She considered hanging up the phone just in case. "Snap out of it, Maria," she argued with herself. "It's probably just Larry from the production office wondering where you can start singing again." Maria shook her head.... Larry had always had the worse possible timing.

"Hello?" Maria pulled the phone from her ear and looked at the phone. She returned it to her ear. "Hello?" she said louder.

She could hear background noise. Lots of background noise. It sounded like the caller must be in crowded mall. "Hello? Is anyone there?"