Hope

  Everything was… broken.

     Misplaced.

     Surrounded by shattered glass not even faith could mend. 

     I sit here – or stand. Or maybe I’m not. I don’t know what I am. 

     But there’s the void. 

     It’s sharp and soft and smooth and jagged, all at once. 

     Pain.

     Pain.

     Pain. 

     Not even the beasts that haunt my nightmares, nor the shadows that creep into unwanted edges of my mind can take it away. 

     Maybe they’re the ones that cause it. 

     Or maybe it's a cover from the real battle. The real world. 

     I don’t know anymore. 

     Pain. 

     Pain. 

     Pain. 

     Breathe. 

I inhale. And exhale. And then…

     There’s life. 

     And warmth. 

     And something I can’t place…

     It’s soft. 

     It’s floating, ready for me to catch it. 

     It dances softly in the darkness, like a sprite or pixie flying and twirling, surrounded in stardust. 

     It’s hot to the touch, and yet, as I cradle it, I realize what it is. 

     All the things that I’ve been missing. 

     I’ve been locking myself away, creating a wall around me to keep me safe. 

     Only now, I realize that the walls I’ve built are made of shadows. 

     And fears. 

     And blood. 

     So much blood. 

     It’s on my hands, and it pours from my heart. 

     But here, as I hold this little light of warmth, I discover its true purpose. 

     What it’s made for. 

     And it’s made for me. 

     Its name is HOPE.