I’m running. Endlessly down a corridor, searching for a soft, quiet, soundproof place where “worry” is not a word.

And it chases. Endlessly, thirsty for the tears of fear I shed for it.

“Help!” I wish to cry, but my mouth doesn’t open. I want to reach out with with my eyes, but a veil falls over the gray orbs.

Where is he? Where are they? The smiles, the chortles, the jokes?

Is he running as I am? Endlessly down a corridor, searching for an open door?

Does he long for someone to hold his hand, like I long for his?

No. He would turn and face the beast head-on, combatting it with chuckles and light.

The color seeps back into my world simply because I found a door I may rest behind awhile. A hole where his words resound and weave themselves into a blanket to envelop me. I light a fire with my candle, filling the place with the crackle of a kindly flame.

I smile, and from within raises a song of hope and joy…
But it waits just outside the door
How I wish it to never open!