The dream seemed so real –

That I can’t tell if you were here or not –

Me

In my tattered rags –

My feet tangled beneath my body

As I sat on them –

The girl in the beautiful gown to my right –

You

In your exquisite suit –

Opened the letter –

And called out my name.

Later

You held my scrawny hand –

Nothing special about it –

Never manicured or softened or fragranced –

But you held it tightly.

And for once –

I felt a love that didn’t let go.

Bethany

A compact young girl

Deathly afraid of storms

Hiding under the covers

Shivering

Shying away from the reality

Of the lightning outside the windowpane.

The older sister

Sweet, empathetic to the little one’s cries

Cuddles up next to her

Makes her vulnerable to the storm

By removing the blanket from her face.

Holds her hand up to the window

In the darkness

Fingers outspread

“Hold your hand out next to mine.”

The younger one, slowly,

Relents.

Two hands held out in the

Black night

Suddenly light up –

Revealing the two.

The younger one looks to her sister,

Noticing the outline of the face –

The one she so fully admires.

Fear diminished.

“See? Even in the storm, there are lights

In the darkness. You’re safe with me.”

You have been my light in the darkness.