In a quiet room with walls the color of faded dreams, a small figure lay wrapped in blankets. Tubes snaked around the child, connecting to mysterious machines that beeped and hummed. Sunlight tried its best to slip through the curtains, casting weak streaks on the floor. This was where Lily spent her days, or so they said. Lily, a nine-year-old with a head full of thoughts that didn't quite fit together anymore. But one thought, one song that she had heard what seemed like eons ago, echoed through her head
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie
Lily didn't know why the room had become her world. Her body felt like a sack of rocks, and even the simplest movements were a struggle. Toys gathered dust on a table nearby, their bright colors a mocking reminder of a time that felt far away. Mom and Dad drifted in and out, their faces a mix of emotions that Lily couldn't quite figure out. They spoke in hushed voices, words dripping with a heaviness that seeped into the room.
Sometimes, people wearing white coats entered, bringing a flurry of activity. They'd ask Lily questions she had no answers for, and their hands felt cold against her skin. After they left, she'd feel a little different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how. Everything blurred together – the voices, the faces, the faces with the voices.
A pocket full of posies
Dreams mixed with reality, and Lily couldn't always tell them apart. There were dreams of flying on the back of giant birds, dreams of a world made of candy where rivers flowed with chocolate. These dreams felt more real than the room she was trapped in, as if her mind was stitching together its own story, separate from the one playing out around her.Days bled into nights, and Lily's world grew more distant. Shapes on the ceiling swirled into strange patterns, and the machines' beeping became a strange sort of lullaby. Sometimes, Lily felt like she was spinning, like the room was a merry-go-round that wouldn't stop. She'd close her eyes and let herself get carried away, her thoughts slipping into a place where time had no meaning.
A tissue
One day, Lily felt something different. The room seemed to shimmer, and a warmth wrapped around her like a blanket. Mom and Dad were there, holding her hands, and their smiles were so wide that Lily couldn't help but grin back. Energy surged through her, and for a moment, she wasn't trapped in her tired body anymore.Lily's voice quivered as she tried to explain the colors and light that filled the room, but the words stumbled and fell before they reached the air. Mom and Dad exchanged a look – was it sadness? Lily couldn't quite tell. Their faces held a storm of emotions that Lily sensed but couldn't fully grasp.
A tissue
Then, like a whisper, Lily felt a pull. The light tugged at her, soft and insistent. She looked down and saw her own still form, like a discarded shell. Fear and comfort warred within her, but the light beckoned, and Lily drifted upwards, leaving behind the room and all its confusing fragments.In that moment, Lily's eyes held a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. She didn't understand what was happening – was this another dream? Her thoughts twirled in circles, colliding like particles in a fog. As her spirit melded with the light, she left behind the room, the beeping machines, and the uncertainty. Lily's journey had taken her to a place where answers didn't matter, and only a quiet kind of peace remained.
"We all Fall Down"
