Strength

She holds her weary face in gentle hands, squinting her eyes in protest to the warm, painful feeling building behind them. Her small hands ball into fists as her thoughts take over. The questions are racing like bullets through her tender mind. Her breath becomes unsteady as she delves deeper into the pain she always masks so well. It rises from its dark home and threatens to steal the hope she desperately clings to. Climbing, climbing, her heart beats faster..."NO!" Her eyes fly open with lightening speed and her fists slam down to the table. "I won't succumb to this!" she says to the empty room. The tears cascade down her fragile skin onto the old desk. They are her only sign of weakness...when no one else can see. Her strength, though shaken, never falters. She always sees the light in the dark. She wipes her red, sore eyes and takes a deep breath. He'll never see her cry over him.

3/30/09