When Darkness Closes In

When black tides beckoned her from her coastal reverie, it was all she could do to set sail before the darkness came on. These kinds of journeys weren't planned; they never are. But she learned to prepare for them. She had always kept a sailboat moored at the wharf near the upper end of Sanity Point. And it was well stocked with provisions––not knowing how long she'd be gone.

She often visited that place where others had warned her not to go. Her friends were afraid that she'd never return, and if she did, she would not be the same; for, when navigating the ocean of shadows, one can, at any time, be swallowed up by waves of despair. And many––too many––have been lost at sea, never to return.

But she would always come back, sometimes stronger than before.


~C.A. Chicoine