She asks me, why do you live in the shadows? What has darkness ever done for you, anyways? I smile softly. Let the light sting my eyes and promise it’s not tears- but remind myself that brave women cry too. Darkness is proof that light once occupied that space. It’s why we’re able to recognize it in the first place. If you could see through shadows would you feel less afraid of the dark? It always points back to people’s faithlessness in questioning what’s on the other side. That’s the catch- you really don’t know what’s behind darkness- but seeing isn’t always believing. I let my bones rest in that sort of thing. Feel gravity bring me back down. Turn it into something like solace. Something like reckoning. Something as selfless as the shadows because they step aside to make room for light every single time. -AMT ©️