She stood at the edge. The edge of everything that hurt. She looked down at the sadness and pain and old memories that brought back repressed feelings. She could feel the waves of hatred and uncertainty pulse from the depths.
It seemed as if it was going to leap up and she would be swept away, falling so far down she wondered if she would be able to crawl back up.
The path behind her was littered with stress, bitterness and contempt for the world and what if had to offer. The path had been winding and tedious and maybe somewhere along she had lost her way but it had led her to the edge.
And so there she stood, on the edge of an abyss, simply staring.
A warm hand on her shoulder made her jump, but the grip was firm. She turned to see a pair of tired eyes and a warm smile. He removed his hand and she felt a chill from the loss.
He looked past her into the abyss and walked up to the edge, right beside her.
She watched as he stared at the sadness and pain and hurt, taking it all in. She wondered how he was holding up to it all.
There was a moment of stillness, where he simply absorbed. And then his faced morphed into a grim smile as he pushed it all away. She watched the hatred and fear and uncertainty sent back to the large dark abyss until it was just them and the darkness in front.
Everything was still there, the evil was still there but it wasn’t roaring up anymore. It didn’t seem consuming anymore. It simply existed.
He let out a sigh then turned to look at her. His eyes were still tired and his smile was still warm.
And together they stepped back from the edge and down a path that seemed different from the one that had led her there.
And as they walked away she looked back at the darkness, with all its pain, and understood.
They had stared into the abyss, but hadn’t let it consume them.
