Feeling Free

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was just a normal girl, but she believed in all things of beauty and magic. For her, every day was new; every day was an adventure. She saw beauty in the simplest of things and felt the pull of discovery every day. The world was a glittery mass, resplendent in light and floating in a sea of falling stars.

But one day, darkness came upon the girl. It came in waves, crashing down on her every time she started to get her feet beneath her. She floundered in the upsurge, unable to determine either the direction from which the waves came or the direction toward light. The dark was so vast and overwhelming that she did not think she would ever escape. In truth, there were times when she felt that she was about to be swept out into nothingness, never to be seen nor heard from again.

Until. Until one day when a single star caught her attention. She was so startled by the light that she nearly could not comprehend what it was; for a moment, she lost track of it. Her heart paused in the cage of her chest and she held her breath. Where was it? Where was it?

And then, sweet relief. As her eyes settled once more, and fully, upon the single orb of light in the distant sky, the girl's heart beat and her breath renewed. Beyond that, she felt a twist and loosening of something within her heart and sensed that something binding her soul had been released. She felt buoyant and free--and, as she watched, her skies lit up again.

***

I am in the midst of a reawakening. Every day I see a few more stars than I did the day before. The magic is slowly returning to my world. I am not entirely sure where this new outlook will take me, but I am so happy to find out.