Serenity’s Soul
January 27, 2010
Dear Serenity’s Soul,
I sat quietly in my room, but peacefully. The silence cradled me gently in its ever so loving arms, and that was a feeling that I missed so much. I could see the sun shining through the white curtains that covered the window. I felt comforted by the light. Then my mother entered the room holding Mocha in her arms. Her dress was light blue and seemed to flow with her movement. Her hair was carefully arranged up on her head, and her face was beaming with happiness. My mother was also at peace. I waited for this day for such a long time. She bent over to put Mocha down and said to me, “Follow me.” I stood up and told Mocha to stay. She curled up in a little spot in the corner, and I walked towards my mother.
“We’ll be back.” My mother informed the other ladies, and they acknowledged her statement with a smile.
As we walked, my mother was silent and I could tell that she was gathering her thoughts. I didn’t interrupt her. The day was too nice and calm to interrupt her. This was a day to listen to the wind as it covered my body in kisses of blissful breezes.
Our path suddenly led into some silent woods, and truthfully, I was afraid to follow my mother…but you see, my mother did something that took all of my fear away. My fear disappeared the moment she took my hand, and then she began to speak.
“You know, Monica, those women back there all have a story to tell. Some have been abused. Some have fallen in life. Some are lost, and some have stayed to help. Most of them are only there for a little while, and then they’ll leave that little house and return to this big world. I know these woods, Monica. I know these trees. I know these sounds. I know the ground we’re walking on. I know it, because I too have my own story and it’s one that I never told you. Listen,…do you hear that?”
It was silent for a few seconds until I heard the sweet, flowing sound of water.
“Monica, sometimes when you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, you just have to keep walking and then you’ll find it…you’ll find your peace.”
Suddenly we stopped, and there in front of us was this beautiful waterfall. The water seemed to sparkle, and it was as free as the song bird’s melody that echoed around us.
My mother calmly said to me, “I used to come here when I was a little girl. I wanted to get away from my house, from my life. My daddy didn’t love me, and my mama didn’t care that much, so I was left by myself a lot. One day, I said that I would take myself a little trip into a different world, and so I walked through these woods. The trees were so tall and silent and gloomy. The woods seemed to be depressed, but I kept on walking and I found this sacred waterfall. Every jewel of beauty can be found here; love, peace, and freedom. You asked me to come with you to show you… and to help you understand. Well, it begins right here. I failed you as a mother. Your father failed you as a father, and I can look in your eyes and tell that you are a little stronger but something in you feels that you have failed yourself as a survivor. I gave up on myself, and I am proud of you for not doing that. I brought you here to tell you that even though it feels like you’re walking through the gloomy woods, there’s a waterfall of peace somewhere. We’re going to do this, you and I, together. We’re going to make it.”
And she hugged me and kissed me on my cheek. My mother looked me in my eyes and wiped my tears away. We walked together out of those woods and back to the house. There was a lot my mother wanted to tell me. There was a story of how she ended up at that house, and how she met my father. There was a whole story, but in that moment…looking at that waterfall, listening to my mother…there was more than just a story. There was Serenity.
Until next time,
Monica
