Shadows that Lurk in the Light-Chapter Two (Revised)

Michelle Renee Kidwell
3 min readDec 6, 2024
Photo by Augustine Wong on Unsplash

Chapter Two:

Life has taught me that there are good and bad shadows, those that remind us of something greater. There is something greater than the isolation of hospital walls during a pandemic, something greater than the unknown. After I was shot, I found comfort in the shadows that reminded me that there is something greater than the unknown, but I feared the dark shadows lurking in the light after I was shot.

The bad shadows caused fear, the ones that reminded me sometimes monsters came in the form of men who shot strangers in grocery store parking lots without reason. There were men who thought shooting was a game. Because of fear, my sister camped out in a hospital parking lot during a pandemic even though they wouldn’t let her in. While we couldn’t be in the same room, Deliah became like the older sister, the protector.

The fact that Deliah drummed the steering wheel with her fingertips after surgery told me something was wrong, and that I had no feeling below the waist told me once. I felt as if my legs were sleeping after a long card ride, only stranger.

My sister and I were spoken to at the same time by the nurse and doctors. We would have to tell our parents later, but my sister and I were close, and I needed her. I needed her to hug me and tell me everything would be…

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Michelle Renee Kidwell
Michelle Renee Kidwell

Written by Michelle Renee Kidwell

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge in the light: Helen Keller http://www.facebook.com/fansofMichellerkidwell

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