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[https://imgur.com/R4AJalE][https://imgur.com/R4AJalE]

Even in the presence of a bright light, darkness is never too far away. It lurks around every corner, hides behind every object and every nook and cranny. Like a phantom waiting for its moment.

For Sonia, the darkness was always waiting for her, even after she fell asleep. It was always there, ever pressing down on her lonely heart. Even now, she laid in her bed, hungry, cold and alone. The darkness thrived in her misery.

“Whether here or there, night or day, no matter where I go, the darkness never goes away.”

The sad little girl curled herself into a shivering ball of sorrow, weeping until her weary mind was too tired to stay awake. Tears rolled down from her purple, swollen eye before she soon slipped away into sleep, where even there, she would not find peace.

Sonia often had dreams in which she existed as a tiny spec floating in an endless void of painful solitude, where familiar voices casted insults and harsh words at her, reminding her of how wretched she was and how wretched she would always be. They were words that she had heard over and over before. A painful reminder indeed. She was an unwanted child that would grow to be an unwanted adult, ever longing for the comfort of love and acceptance. But she didn’t deserve it, did she?

Just like so many times, the endless void stretched out before her, a vacuum of endless space, sucking all light into its hungry depths. The atmosphere was quiet and still, causing her anxiety to swell with anticipation. For she knew what came next.

Before the voices could speak, she shouted into the void. The darkness swallowed her words, making her voice sound strangely muffled. The darkness responded by assaulting her, pressing in on her, as if to swallow her up also. She continued.

“You don’t have to say anything. I already know.”

Even in her bed, unconscious and asleep, her cry came out with a moan.

“I know, I know. “

“I am worthless. “

“I am stupid. “

“I cry too much.”

“I am selfishly needy.”

“I am a bad girl.”

“I know that I’m annoying, and…and…I ruined my mommy and daddy’s life.”

The musty pillow on which she slept was stained from the tears of countless lonely nights. The pillow, worn and dingy, became wet as she wept.

This was her life.

What an awful existence. Night after night, she prayed to any god that would listen, that someday, she could change her life.

A gentle light shone through the tiny window of her tiny room. It shone like the soft light of the moon. It silently drifted from the window to the floor as silver sparkles emanated from its glow. The air was still and silent, but the soft light continued to move along the floor to the rickety bed where the little girl slept. It moved as light that spilled from an open door, casting its sparkling glow on everything in its path until it reached the sleeping child, and once its light casted itself onto her sleeping form, it reached out like a hand and cradled her bruised face.

The girl rarely dreamed of anything worthwhile. Instead, her dreams were mostly nightmares or nothing at all. Though, she preferred nothing at all. Tonight, however, she dreamed of something different, and she wasn’t sure at first if it was a good thing. The endless void that stretched before her changed and formed into a flowing grassy field. The landscape, dotted with tulips and daisies, were blown gently from the wind that tussled her dark brown hair.

She took a long deep breath. She could taste the clean air, and feel the cool breeze in the sunny atmosphere, and hear the birds chirping in mid flight.

“What is this?

Sonia’s wandering gaze searched cautiously as she tiptoed lightly through the grass. The ground was soft and warm beneath her feet.

Sonia stopped abruptly, her breath caught up in her throat. There was a figure standing unmovingly in the distance. Not knowing what to do or say, she stood there, watching as the figure stood on a high hill overlooking the landscape below. The woman stood with her back facing Sonia. She wore a long white robe that flowed in the wind along with her platinum white hair. The mysterious woman turned to face her with a gentle smile.

“Hey you, come and join me. The view is breathtaking.”

Sonia stood there for a long moment, wondering if she should approach the woman or run away. She looked around at her surroundings and realized that with such an open field, there was nowhere to hide.

“Who are you?” Sonia asked.

“You already know my name, but that’s okay if you don’t remember. Someday you will.”

“I know you?” She asked, looking down at herself with her fingers to her chin.

Come and join me. Stand by my side, my dear friend.”

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“Friend?”

Sonia stepped toward her. With one trembling foot at a time, she made her way to the woman’s side.

There was so much about this woman that drew her in toward her, like a mysterious magnetic power that led the girl’s feet to where the woman stood.

There was something about this woman that melted the fear within her, and she wasn’t sure what it was, and she wasn’t sure what it was about this woman that drew her in. Was it the sound of her voice or her gentle smile? Or perhaps, was it the glowing radiance of her brilliant blue eyes?

Sonia stood on the high hill that overlooked the landscape below, facing the mysterious woman, who in turn, faced the lonely girl.

The two girls stood toe to toe with one another in silence as the cool wind tossed their clothes and grassy flowers in a swirl. The little girl looked up at the beautiful stranger who looked down at her with her gentle smile. The little girl was waist-height, looking up at the woman with apprehension. The friendly, unblinking gaze made her feel nervous and so she looked away, looking out into the open field below them. The massive span of golden yellow and burnt orange flowers blew in the wind like waves on the sea. It truly was breathtaking.

The woman reached out her hand and caressed the girl's face. She flinched with the sudden contact.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. I promise. I’ve been watching you for a little while. I’ve seen what you did today. “

The little girl bowed her head in shame.

“I got into trouble today. But I was only trying to help!” She said, snapping her head up in defense. The woman laughed.

“Oh, I know. I’m not here to punish you, silly. I know that what you did was for the benefit of another person. You meant well.”

Sonia bowed her head once more.

“Yeah, but the other girl pretended like she wasn’t being bullied. I got in trouble for fighting. It’s not fair!” She cried.

“I know, Dear. It certainly isn’t.” Said the woman, gently stroking Sonia’s hair. “The world as a whole is unfair and cruel, Isn’t it? Do you regret what you've done? Would you do it again if you could?”

Sonia thought for a moment. Would she do it again? That was a good question. The bully that had attacked that poor and defenseless girl had landed a punch to Sonia’s eye, and in the end, the girl being attacked, in order to protect herself from further bullying, had pretended like she was not involved, making Sonia out to be a liar. Would she do that again?

“I think…That I would…Do it again. I don’t think I could possibly look away from such a thing. I have to help. I will always help people.”

Sonia grabbed hold of the woman’s hand that was still caressing her face, and pushed it away.

“I don’t have anyone. I am alone, and I know what it’s like to have no one on your side. I won’t let anyone else be lonely or unloved. Not if I can do something for them. I have no regrets.” Sonia clenched her teeth in a stifled cry. “But…It still hurts so much. I came home and was immediately punished and sent to my room. It doesn’t matter where I go or who I talk to. No one loves me. No one cares!”

The mysterious woman, moved by the little girl’s tearful words, grabbed hold of Sonia and pulled her into a full embrace. Sonia’s face sank into the woman’s clothes as her arms wrapped around her tightly.

The girl could feel the woman’s tears soaking into her hair. Sonia, though she was only a child of ten years, instinctively found herself patting the woman’s arm in a comforting manner.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make such a fuss. I…”

“I claim you.”

“What?” Sonia said. Shocked and confused. The woman raised her voice in a powerful affirmation.

“I tell you this day, I claim you. You are mine! And I will love you with all of my heart!”

Sonia didn’t just hear the words, she felt them, being completely enveloped in a sparkling aura. First her hair faded into a platinum white, and then her eyes, chestnut brown, shined with a divine blue. She now bore a resemblance to the woman holding her.

“I claim you. You are mine!” She repeated. “And from this day, you will bear my name.”

The woman knelt down and lifted the girl into her arms.

“I knew it when I first saw you. This is right!”

Sonia didn’t understand what was happening and she honestly didn’t care. A woman was holding her. Something she rarely ever received, and she loved it. She returned the woman’s embrace and together, they held onto one another as the world around them disappeared in a blinding white light. And when the light faded, she was in her room, being held still by the mysterious woman who had claimed her.

The woman sat the girl on her bed and knelt beside her, cradling her face with both of her hands.

“I only regret that I won’t be able to see you like this for such a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t trouble you with the details, love. You still have a very difficult road ahead of you, and you will, at times, lose your way. But I will always be there with you, even if you forget. There will be times when you will lose faith, but even then, I will always be there with you, though you can’t see me.”

“Are you dying?”

The woman was silent.

“I see. The world truly is cruel, isn’t it?

“It is indeed. But in you is where I put my hope. Yes, both my hope and my future. You will be a beacon for my people, someday.

“Are your people being bullied?”

“Yes, and they are in need of your help. Will you let them suffer? They need a friend and someone to love them.”

“Of course I’ll help them! I will love them when no one else will. I will be there for them.”

“Yes, you will. You are an amazing girl, and someday, you will be an even better queen.”

“Queen?”

“I have to go, my love. I cannot stay here much longer. I won’t see you again for a long time, but I will miss you.”

“Do you have to go?”

I do.” She said with a kiss on the girl’s forehead. “Be good for me, and never stop loving others.”

With that, she stood up and vanished into the light.

The door busted open and an angry woman came through.

“What’s that racket!? Girl, I tell you what. If I hear another sound, I’ll…” The woman’s eyes went wide.

The tiny room was filled with an ethereal light that normal human’s eyes could not penetrate. When the blinding light that filled the room faded, it was the eyes that the surrogate woman saw first, followed by pale white hair.

“Sonia?”

“Yes, mother. Are you okay?”

“I think I drank too much.” She said as she closed the door, leaving the blue eyed, white haired girl alone.

For days to come, she didn’t mind being lonely. Her dreams were never the same after that encounter. They were filled mostly with adventures with the white haired stranger, which always ended with the mysterious woman telling her “I love you.”

It took some time for her hair to regain the normal color of dark brown, but her eyes, though normally a dark chestnut brown, always held a glint of divine blue at just the right angle, always catching people by surprise, which they shrugged off as a trick of the light.

Though the darkness was never too far away, the light that the woman gave her, imparted a special resilience that would aid the girl for all of her days. A light that would never fade.