Bratty Girl

This is the street where I used to live and these were the people with whom I shared my life. I met them the day they moved in. And I saw what they brought with them. Beautiful dreams for the future. And quiet hopes for a better life. Not just for themselves, but for their children, too. If I could, would I tell them what lies ahead? Would I warn them of the sorrow and betrayal that lie in store? No. From where I stand now, I see enough of the road to understand how it must be traveled. The trip is to keep moving forward, to let go of the fear and the regret that slow us down and keep us from enjoying a journey that will be over too soon. Yes, there will be unexpected bends in the road, shocking surprises we didn't see coming, but that's really the point. Don't you think?

An odd thing happens when we die, our senses vanish. Taste, touch, smell and sound become a distant memory, but our sight? Ah, our sight expands and we can suddenly see the world we left behind so clearly. Of course most of what's visible to the dead could also be seen by the living, if they would only take the time to look.

It's an odd thing to look back on the world, to watch those that I've left behind. Each, in her own way, so brave, so determined, and so very desperate. Desperate to venture out, but afraid of what she'll miss when she goes. Desperate to get everything she wants, even when she's not exactly sure of what that. Desperate for life to be perfect again, although she realizes it never really. Desperate for a better future, if she can find a way to escape her. I not only watch, I cheer them on these amazing women. I hope so much they find what they are looking for. But I know not all of them will. Sadly, that's just not the way life works. Not everyone gets a happy ending.

Yes, as I look back at the world I left behind me it's all so clear to me. The beauty that waits to be unveiled, the mysteries that long to be uncovered. But people so rarely stop to take a look, they just keep moving. It's a shame really. There's so much to see.