Shadows that Lurk in the Light: Chapter Two

Photo by Augustine Wong on Unsplash

Chapter Two:

Life has taught me that there are good shadows and bad ones, the ones that remind us that something greater is out there. Something greater than the isolation of hospital walls during a pandemic, something greater than the unknown. Sometimes the shadows could be something as simple as a FaceTime call with your sister, after I was shot, I found comfort in the shadows that reminded me that there’s something greater than the unknown but I feared the dark shadows that lurked in the light.

I was facing both the good shadows and the bad ones, the bad ones were the ones that brought fear, the ones that reminded me sometimes monsters came in the form of men, who shot strangers in grocery store parking lots for no reason. Men, who thought shooting was a game. Fear was kept my sister camping out in a hospital parking lot during a pandemic even though they wouldn’t allow her in because she wanted to be there for me. In so many ways, Deliah became like the older sister, the protector at the time, even though we couldn’t be in the same room.

After surgery, Deliah and I were both given the news over a FaceTime call, the fact that Deliah was drumming the steering wheel with her fingertips told me something was wrong, the fact that I had no feeling below the waist told me once. It felt as if my legs were a sleep after a…