Meet Me at the Library

Beyond the Shadows

Here's a short story! I haven't posted one in a while, so enjoy!

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The girl was falling; falling far below the clouds, and into the great depths. A misty fog filled her mind as her eyes closed. She was not drowning, nor suffocating, but simply in a state of sleep. But her breathing was slowing, and she didn't know how long this slumber would last. She was drifting, drifting away, with no knowledge of where she was going. She felt a shadowy impossible thing clawing at her, in the back of her mind. She wished she could fight it, but she couldn't. She was too weak, too broken to even try.

But wait. Something new was here. And it was moving towards her. Yet for once, she wasn't afraid. There was something about it, something that made her feel —

Safe. She didn't know what the thing was, but it gave her hope, hope for passage out of the dark nothingness. As she regained consciousness, she saw clearly what was coming towards her. It was a hand, reaching out, to save her. It grasped her palm, and pulled her up. But when she reached the edge, she found that she couldn't leave. An invisible barrier held her back, and the helping hand had to let her go. She fell back into the nothingness, and wept.

The monsters waited, eager for her to give up. But she wiped away her tears, held on tight to the drop of hope that she still carried in her heart, and told herself: "I am not broken. My scars are not permanent. I am not no one, I am someone. I matter."

And then, she was light, fighting the darkness. She soared out of the deep abyss, leaving it all behind. Out, she flew; out past the monsters and shadows, and into the sunlight.