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THE DARKNESS WITHIN

She walks alone, a somber expression on
her partially-hidden face, shielded by the
hood of her cape. She pulls her hood
down low, as if to hide herself from
the world. Or, perhaps, to hide the world
from herself. From the darkness inside her.

The darkness tearing at the very depths
of her soul. Where it comes from, she
does not know. But her biggest worry

is how to make it go away. Or will she
be a prisoner of it forever? A prisoner
of herself, of the darkness inside.

She carries on, and carries the burden
within her as if it were a weight upon
her shoulders, crushing down on her.
How she longs to be free of it! But
she knows not how. No one can help,
can rid her of this darkness, this pain.

She stops at a fountain and sits on
the edge. She reaches her hand into
the cool water, all the while watching
the spray of the fountain upon itself.
She looks at her reflection in the water,
and the face she sees frightens her.

It is as if it is not hers at all, but
someone else's pain-stricken face.
Suddenly she feels something hot
run down her cheek. Something wet.
She holds out her hand and a tear falls
into her palm. Then another.

She sobs, the darkness overwhelming
her, engulfing her. It is so dark, so
threatening. Then it is gone. The
darkness, the emptiness, the loneliness.
She washes her tears in the coolness
of the fountain, bewildered of what occurred.

She is free. But how? She looks around,
and something catches her eye. The
fountain, the statue. It is of an angel with
wings outspread, guarding over a
little girl. Suddenly, the angel begins
to glow, bright as lightning.

She covers her face, unable to look.
But the light is inviting, warm,
comforting. She looks again, and
as she looks, her cape is released
and flies away in the wind. Her wings
beneath reveal what she really is:

A fallen angel, once bound
by an overwhelming darkness
inside her. Now she is free,
and she spreads her wings as the
darkness is washed from her. The fearful
reflection in the water once before is no more.

Learn more about this author, Arica Rupnow.
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