SticksandWords
I met my mother's younger self for coffee today
I couldn't help but smile at her from across the table because she brought the sunshine into the room with her
I leaned into her kind eyes and saw my future reflected in them
The steam from her coffee cup burnt her tongue but she still smiled at a passing stranger through the pain
She told me she had been hurt by the world, bruised and bitten
I wondered how she hid it so well and reached for her hand across the fine dark brown wood of the table
Soft hands with tough lines woven through them, she clasped my palm and held tightly
She told me stories of childhood innocence and I laughed
So much joy and soul emanated from her, I wanted to live in that moment forever
I wanted to write down the words of faith she had in humanity, despite all the ways it had let her down
I told her I was deeply flawed by my stubborn nature, so consumed by my self-preservation that I could never be soft
I said I wish I could be like her someday
Someone as kind , strong and graceful as her
She smiled, looked at me and said she wished she could be like me someday
She left after that , with the sun setting in the background
She left her half-empty cup of coffee sitting on the table and her faint smell of magnolia lingered in the air
I met my mother's younger self for coffee today
And then I went home and cried
For even though her heart was shattered, she walked around giving pieces of it to everyone she met