To my past self

His words rang true For far too long You held it inside Said, “Nothing’s wrong”

Your smile dimmed Your opinions quieted The girl who loved all Then, internally rioted

As time goes on People will poke and prod They will see the girl Whose words felt flawed

They will want to hear What you have to say You’re smart, not dumb Girl, your words have sway

Of course, it’s true Healing doesn’t happen overnight You will start speaking up But end in “sorry” without a fight

Those who love you Will see your surrender Call it out and encourage you And all your splendor

They will tell you To speak your mind Do it with soul The part that makes you kind

Years will pass And you’ll slowly see The girl who loved all Is finally free

“I think I just met the happiest person in the world,” Maisy said, as she flung her keys onto the table and plopped into a chair.

Considering she just met the happiest person in the world, Maisy looked quite the opposite. Her eyes filled with tears and drifted to the window overlooking the street. She bit her lip to keep the tears from falling, but they betrayed her.

“Whoa, Maisy!” Nikki took a seat beside her. “What happened?”

Maisy swatted at her tears, “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I just don’t -I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen someone that happy. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen anyone happy.”

Nikki followed Maisy’s gaze to the window. Dark sky peeked out between the tops of buildings. Anymore, the only light that illuminated the sky came from street lamps and the faint glow of homes. For kids born in the last decade, this scene was completely normal. But, for those Nikki and Maisy’s age who remember the pre-Dark Days, a sunless sky in the middle of the afternoon was everything but normal.

Nikki felt a lump quickly form in her throat as her eyes threatened to betray her as well. She swallowed hard, “Maisy, where did you meet this person? What were they doing?”

Maisy looked up, “It’s hard to explain, you just have to see for yourself.”