** **_The figure in the red hooded cape ran into the garden of red poppies, looking for safety. The bright reds drew her in, almost calling her by name. This girl needs to escape her world of black, white and grey, if only for a day. Maybe she’ll even stay, to soak up the bright yellow sun rays and get her bad thoughts to finally go away._

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_The little girl was constantly running and running so she doesn’t have to think or face her demons. How much can one person take before she breaks? Red, burning anger bubbles and boils over inside. This is just before black out rage takes the stage, then the lights go out for the night.They run around on the same side of the town but different sides of the the street. I often wonder if they’ll ever meet? _

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_Then all systems collapse in agony, no one understands the toll this takes. When you’re ravaged by trauma your whole life and it’s€™ all you know, you’re in survival mode constantly. It’s hypervigilance (fight or flight) and surviving not living. All she wants is a little compassion and empathy. No one even knows most of what she suffers day in and day out, it’s Groundhog Day in the worst way. Smelling the poppies makes her sleepy so she lays down in the fields._

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_She feels so relaxed that her body and mind start to drift off to sleep. When her eyes open everything looks so different. It’s like she was seeing the world in color for the first time, it was always black and white before._

_Things were definitely looking brighter, all she had to do was change her view on life. Look for the good instead of focusing on the bad, and be grateful for what she has._