Something Someone in Cedar Springs Wrote

I met some really sweet people in Cedar Springs.  In fact the first time I was there and left, it almost felt like the end of summer camp.  It's funny how in a situation like that you start out with the deep dark personal stuff, then realize you barely know the basics of each others lives, even though you feel like you've always known them.  There was a man I met my second time, he was older then me, and really nice.  He had been through a lot with alcoholism problems and really bad anxiety.  He had also had to work really hard to overcome some of his problems with  proximity to people, due to some abuse he had suffered.  He is a wonderful person.

He and I talked and shared our stories, and he wound up writing this piece for me.  I can't even express how much this means to me.  He truly cares, and he showed it in his words, which I can only think of as a salve.  This story made me cry.

The Story of Kumari
Kumari was a beautiful young girl who lived between darkness and light. Her happiness waas there but was shadowed by sadness. A sadness she couldn't understand and tried to fight. Kumari was strong but the sadness was stronger. Her smile and beautiful eyes showed the light inside her. The light was there but she had trouble seeing it.
Kumari was full of amazing talent. Her writings, drawings and imagination knew no bounds. She wrote of princesses living in far away lands, of castles and dragons, of sunshine and peace.
When the darkness came for Kumari, she would fight as hard as she could. She would scream, punch and cry for the darkness to stop; to leave her alone. "Go away! Leave me alone!" she would say. "But I want you," replied the darkness. "And you want me." Kumari screamed, "No! I don't want you! I want the light!"
The darkness would recede, but only for a short time. Every time the darkness returned, Kumari became weaker and weaker. The light she could see became dimmer and more faint.
"I can't really hurt you," the darkness would say, "but you can hurt you, then we can be together." Kumari began to think that maybe the darkness was right. Perhaps it would be easier to just give in. Let the darkness swallow her and have its way.
Kumari sat down and stared at herself in a mirror. "It's too hard," she said. "The darkness is so strong and I am so tired." Kumari began to cry.
As Kumari's tears ran down her cheeks, one tear splashed onto the mirror. Slowly, the mirror began to change. The more tears that splashed onto the mirror the more it changed. Kumari noticed this and looked up. What she saw surprised her. The reflection she saw was her own, but different. Her eyes had sparkle, her hair was shining. Her beautiful face was glowing. She smiled and said, "I am your light. I am within you. I have never left you and I never will."
"You don't understand," Kumari said. "The darkness is so strong, and I am so tired. It's too hard."
"Please don't give up," the reflection said. "The darkness does not offer peace. It only knows torment and pain."
"The beauty and peace you see in this reflection is within you. You are the light. The darkness knows this. It wants your light. Don't let it win... please." The reflection then faded and returned to normal.
Kumari stopped crying. She sat up, wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath. She felt a tingling in her chest. As she put her hand to her heart, she felt it beat stronger. Calm and peace started to wash over her. She turned around and looked at the mirror again and it was black.
The darkness was within the mirror. Before it could say anything, Kumari screamed "No!" and as she did the light burst forth from her chest and into the mirror. The light was so bright, so powerful it shattered the mirror, and it swallowed the darkness. The darkness could do nothing against the power of Kumari's light.
Kumari looked down at herself and saw the beautiful woman that she saw in the mirror.
"I am the light," Kumari said. "I will not let the darkness take me away. I am amazing and strong, stronger than anything that stands in my way. I will spread my light wherever the darkness hides. It will not take me! I will win!"