Time
Time came to me. Soft with hummingbird wings she hovered close to my ear. She flew past my eyes like light dancing on the water. She grabbed a piece of my heart and tugged, just enough to get my attention.
Look up, she said. Eyes open. Horizon wide.
Take it in.
She placed a weightless hand on my shoulder. It felt heavy all the same. This was her intention from the beginning.
My breathing slowed in pace to hers. Blurred lines cleared.
I closed my eyes, and one by one they passed before me. All the people I call mine. Their smiles, true and pure, made their own music. The sound so beautiful it took my breath. The song I was always made to dance to.
Time came to me. Let the fog lift, she whispered.
Steady now, sweet one. Look. Look at their hands. See how much they’ve grown. Look where you’ve been. Where you will take them. Remember what you want to show them. Put your ear to their heart, for now it is yours.
Time placed her head next to mine and settled around me. My gaze followed as she reached in front of us and pointed to the light in their eyes, the breath in their lungs, the speed in their feet, the abandon in their souls. The pure beauty they carry in their humanness. Their very being a wonder of its own.
Her voice whispered. One day you will look back, and you will not be the one that mattered. Only them. All the ones you loved. All the ones who truly loved you. Those few who marked out a before and after. The names etched on your heart. The ones who taught you what true love was. The pieces of them are what you will reach for. They will settle on you like dew as you and I leave together.
Breathe, precious one. Your days are not yet done, so give them all the love you have. All of it. Leave them with all the best pieces of you.
For love is the only thing that defeats me, she said. I can steal many things, but love runs right through me. I can never capture it.
So spend it all. Waste it shamelessly on those who have come to you as pure gifts in this great world. Leave none in the bank of your heart. Smash it wide open and pour it out over their heads. Leave them with every single bit of it.
