A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Darkness: a cliché we've all come to know. We use it to describe it in the fight of good versus evil. It's also used in describing emotions, how we feel in our depressing state. Someone who is lost and cannot see a way out clings to this cliché. It's the only thing that makes sense to them, especially when it's all they can see.

I'm now that wanderer who has lost their way. I look around in this darkness, asking for someone to show me the way out. I cannot find a friend willing to lend a hand. I'm forced to continue to wander aimlessly without guidance or a companion by my side to help me.

After so much time has gone by, I finally fall to my knees with my head down. I tried- I've been trying- and nothing to show for it. I'm so tired. I feel the darkness around me closing in; it's ready to consume me. I don't resist it though, I'm giving in. What else can I do? What else do I have left? I gave everything I had and everything I am. I'm left here alone to dwell on my failure. So what else is there to do, but give up?

"Is that all you can do?" a voice says.

"I'm nothing," I reply. "No one is accepting my call. No one is coming to my aide. I have no one to guide me. No one to call my friend. Why try anymore? The only thing I'm good for is rejection."

"That can't be the only thing," the voice continued. "You want out of this place, don't you? Do you really think anything will get done if you give up?" There is a pause, then a simple answer, "If you want out of here, if you really want to get to your goal that sparked this journey…then get up and keep moving forward."

I've heard that answer before. In fact, I've heard that voice before; one I had not heard in such a long time. "It's you, isn't it? You heard me? Please shine your light. I…I want to keep going. Show me the way I need to go!"

Suddenly, I lift my head and see the glimmer of hope shining in the distance.

Although this light is small, I will trust it. This light was the only one who came to my aide, the only one willing to guide my way. I rise up and begin walking towards it. As I walk, I remember what made me, what defines me. My clenched fist is pressed up against my chest as if it's holding that information in my heart, making certain it doesn't forget again.

The way is uncertain, where I'll end up outside of this dark fog is unknown, and what my future holds is the terrifying mystery. However, there is one thing I do know. When I finally reach the end, I will not forget who I am and the light who guided my path will shine so brightly on me that the darkness will become nothing more than that simple cliché.