𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 - 𝒌𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒓

(1) Light

If you are in the dark, try to find the light.
Someone may think that for them, there is no such a thing like that, as I did before. Maybe your light will get to you sooner, could be later. Sometimes it takes time. Days, months, possibly years. But trust me, everybody has their light. 'Light' can have different meaning for people. Sometimes it's a thing they like to do, sometimes a place where they like to spend time and just relax.

My light is my best friend, Joe.

He showed up when I needed him the most. I had nothing and no one before him. He's my everything. We share every moment in our lives together. He's truly the sweetest person, and I'm thankful I have him in my life.

Joe and I met in the park, even though we were going to the same high school. I was sitting on a bench, going through some... hard moments. At that time, Joe was going through the park, and I assume he must have seen me.

[3 years ago]

"Faith, right?" he smiled, sitting next to me on a bench, with a kind of unsure tone in his voice.

"Oh yes, Joe, right?" I smiled a little back. He nodded and sighed, relieved that he got the name right.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, concerned. It was getting pretty dark and cold.

"It's getting pretty late, you shouldn't be sitting here alone when it's getting dark"

"Well, I am not sitting here alone anymore, am I?" I said in a funny tone, trying to make a little joke.

"Okay, okay" he said with a smile, "I can walk you home, if that's okay" as he said that, my smile dropped right away.

"I really appreciate that Joe, but I really can't go home right now" I said worried, looking at him.

"I understand" he said as he was reaching for his phone in his pocket.

While he was tapping on his phone, we talked about school a lot. He asked about the issues, so I told him the reasons why am here that late. He seemed really sweet and I felt comfortable with him. He understood. After a few minutes later, he put his phone back in his pocket, and there was silence for a while. He began to speak.

"Look, I know it might sound weird, but you can go to my place. I just texted my mom, she said it's okay with her. We know each other, it's not like we are complete strangers" he smiled, trying to cheer me up a little. "You can stay over until it's okay for you to go back home, okay?" as he said that, I tried to think about it. It was perfect, and I was so happy about it, but I didn't want to be a burden to him or his family.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't even have any stuff with me or anything. I really don't mean to bother you or your mom" I said, already starting to tear up.

"Faith" he said calmly, "I swear it's okay. I'm going to be honest with you. I noticed that you are sleepy in school. Not only that, but I also noticed that you don't talk to anyone, only the teachers. I can see something is happening, only blind can't see it. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. But let me help you, okay?" Joe said, rubbing my back, trying to comfort me.

I had nothing to say. I just threw myself into his arms, and whispered "thank you" to him. I hope he knows how thankful I am.

"It's getting really late, we should get going" he said, pulling away from the hug.

I nodded, and we went to his house.

To this day, I don't know what would happen to me if he and his mom didn't offer me help. It's been three years, almost four, and since then, I stayed living with Joe and his mom.

Back then, I thought there was no such thing as 'light' for me. But I found it. And what I didn't know back then was that there was one more light waiting for me.