Presence

And the mother beat the little girl again and again until she became still.

But still the mother was not happy, for you see, the stiller the little girl became the more present she was and the more present she was, the greater her presence became.

And the mother did not like the little girls presence. And so she continued to beat her. And on it went until the little girl decided that being present was bad.

But the little girl could not rid herself of what she had come to think of as a curse, so she ignored it and hid herself away in order to not inflict it on anyone else.

This was the real curse.

Until she realised that her mother did not beat her because she was bad. The mother beat her because there was a light in her which the mother refused to recognise in herself.

And the little girl did not hide herself away because she was bad. She hid herself away because there was a light in her which she herself refused to recognise.

Eventually, the little girl was removed from her mother and sent out into the world alone. And to this day the pain of that relationship continues to grow the little girls presence.

On some days, she still tries to hide it.

On others, she lets it shine.

But no longer does she deny it.

-Zoe Patterson – Fighting Back