After she first ran from the situation with her husband, she was afraid of the dark. She hadn’t ever been afraid of the dark before or not to her recollection. She had always been a night owl. Darkness had been her friend. She had worked in the dark. Driven alone all across the country in the dark. When the world was asleep, she was in her prime. Suddenly, the first night that she found out he was not coming home again, she was afraid of the dark.
As the days passed and each day became shorter as the winter solstice neared, the thought of the impending darkness sat upon her like a heavy blanket. She was not a good sleeper and she was awake during all those hours of darkness. Terrified. Alone. She felt like she was the only person in the world in the cold of the winter. When she finally went to bed at night, she had to leave the lights on. She prayed for daylight.
She tried to determine what had happened to her to make her so fearful. The last months with him had been dark. He had said some terrible things to her and she had always been a sensitive person. Those things had hurt her deeply. She felt she had seen the darkness of her husband’s soul. He never smiled. He seldom spoke unless it was to belittle her. When she thought back, it seemed as if darkness surrounded them both. She didn’t see the darkness while she was immersed in it. She could see it when she looked back.
She was starting to see light again and she thought that maybe, just maybe, she was not quite so afraid of the dark now. She realized what good friends she really had. If one of them didn’t call her, email her, message her, another one did. They saved her life those first horrible weeks. They were still saving her life. They all knew, maybe better than she did, that there was still a long road ahead of her in order for her to untangle her from this situation. That the darkness would still come and go and threaten to strangle her. They were there for her. She loved them all for that.
He was out there too, somewhere. In the dark.
This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s #JusJoJan’s 2018 Challenge.
The Write Scribe 
Wish I could tell her she is special! The dark will always be there but with friends and her strength she can hold herself up. She will never get over what she has been through but she can stand up to herself! No one can tell her things will get better but they will help her in every they can!!!!
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What a lovely thing to say.
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What a story! You used the prompt efficiently. I’m glad that she’s found good friends and her courage will be renewed. It might be hard to walk through the darkness but she should keep walking towards the light. Lovely writing.
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Thank you so much!
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You are a survivor. You are a strong woman and this will only make you stronger still. You keep reaching for the light and soon the dark nights will be in the past. Your friends love you and will be forever by your side. Excellent writing from the heart.
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