Very well written, Michelle! It’s true that sometimes what we conjure up in our head about situations is far from what they really are meant to be. It’s great that you had a great time in Dakar and then went back to France to be with him again. That experience was necessary for you to speak your truth about what you wanted from this relationship. If you hadn’t gone to France, you would have stayed with the fantasy of life in Dakar with him.

Life has its ways of teaching us along the way.