27

She watches her right hand scribble upon the lined page, realizations of reflections of illusions that had never been real. A golden glow surrounds her fingers, emanating from tissues that had never before been stretched, never allowed to open in honesty. Her left hand lays silent in the stillness of resignation. Strength in submission was all it ever knew.

A cardinal sings from a nearby tree, a reminder from nature that every life has an unsung song inside. She stops to listen. Silent. The only way to truly hear.

A whisper arises, slowly expanding her ribcage, adjusting her bones, spreading her shoulders wide. Scarlet light moves through her fascia and down her arm. She drops the pen and reaches for her heart, closing the circuit to illuminate what had been accustomed to staying in the dark. Her left hand shifts imperceptibly into a new kind of stillness, a surrender to the truth of finally receiving what she always knew to be possible. Coherence across the chasm. 

Tears made of moon water soak her cheeks. With gravity, she tastes her new truth.

- Still, Between