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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Space (01/23/06)
Lois falls to her knees. Despite her fingers firmly gripping the long plush pile of her cream colored carpet, her knees buckle and give way. She lies helplessly on her side. Slowly, she cups her calves with her slender, toned arms and pulls her long legs tightly to her chest. Lois lowers her head and rests her forehead against her knees. As the salty streams of tears flow over her cheek and drip awkwardly into her ear, she realizes that the yoga classes she’s been taking for the past two months are really paying off. She reasons that the classes can be the only logical explanation for her body effortlessly assuming this taunt fetal position. Then again, during one’s darkest hour, sheer pain and devastation can make any shell shocked soul feel as helpless and scared as a newborn’s first moments in the bright light of this difficult world.

Lois begins to sob uncontrollably. She thinks that if she cries harder, it will somehow make just a little bit of the pain go away. Lying still no longer feels right. She begins to rock side to side on the floor. Not one position seems to provide any comfort. Lois begins to massage her chest, just over heart, in an effort to ease the tightness. At this moment, she realizes that her life will never be the same. She will never again see her come through that door. She will not see her smiling face greet her after a long day. She will never again feel her reassuring arms embrace her slender torso. Her head begins to throb with increased intensity. It feels as if someone was using a jackhammer to open her skull. She kept repeating through her wails of anguish, “How will I manage? How will I cope?” After many hours, Lois finally drifted off to sleep.

The bright morning sun pierced through the stark white sheers covering the large window in the small efficiency. Lois was awakened by the warm orange ray of light that streamed across her tear stained cheek. The first ten seconds of disorientation provided comfort for Lois. But then, reality set in and she remembered that her beloved Mom had passed away after a short battle with brain cancer. In that eleventh second of consciousness, all the pain came flooding back into her heart and her swollen eyes filled with tears again.

She picked herself up off the floor and slowly walked to the bathroom. The sterile white room matched her feelings. The bare walls and the worn tile floor made the room cold and lifeless. It was void of beauty and color. The same way Lois viewed her life without her mom. As she looks at herself in the mirror, she wonders how she can go on from here. How will she ever fill the empty space left in her heart?

In that very moment, she realized that there was not one answer that would bring immediate relief from the grief. She knew that not just one hug or just one prayer would make it all better. Lois knew that it would take a lifetime of hugs and a lifetime of prayers to bring comfort. Not to remove the pain, but to cradle it and to soothe it.

That day, Lois greatly under estimated that empty space in her heart. You see, in that space, where the waves of anguish and despair churn like a hurricane at sea, there will be an eye to this storm that will bring moments of quiet, peace and bright sunlight. But unlike a hurricane that has just one eye, there will be many eyes that will bring refreshment for the rough waters that undoubtedly lie ahead. It is in that space that Lois will find the answers to her questions. She asked, “How will I manage? How will I cope?” For in that empty space, the great I AM will reside and his angels will watch over. There will be many eyes for Lois. Many.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
terri tiffany
01/31/06
I liked your writing but you may want to work on the ending abit. I also noticed you used many adjectives in the beginning and it distracted me from the story line. I think with a little work this could be even better.