Cryptic

As long as there is light, there will be darkness. We are people, we laugh, and we cry and we love and we hate. Everyone has their shadow. It follows them wherever they go, and the brighter that it is around them, the less shadow they have. So as people, we circle ourselves with light to dampen the shadow, but it will always be there, even if you cannot see it.

But some shadows are darker than others, and mine is the blackest of the black. My shadow doesn't follow behind me, it surrounds me, envelopes me in its cool, comforting mist. It is easy to look past, as most people do, they see the innocent eyes and the charming smile, and they never bother to look deeper, they never see the dark storm clouds behind the beautiful flower. And when it rains on them, when they're abandoned in the downpour, shivering in the chill that was left behind, they will never have seen it coming. For they had gotten too close to the delicate flower, and just when they went to touch its apparent warmth, it shriveled before their eyes, closed in on itself and fell apart, until every last petal hit the dirt.

There are only two things you can do when such darkness finds its way to your soul. You can drown in it, or you can embrace it, as I have mine. Though experiences speak of a way to shine a light in the dark corners, to escape from the pitch black grasp, a life raft to take you safely to shore, to walk in halls of light once again. But I don't need saving. To require any help would assume I was in a sort of danger. I'm not in danger. In fact, I'm the safest one here, my shadow protects me, it shows me where the clouds are behind the flowers, and I can take cover from the storm, or simply watch it unfold, I already know there's no way to stop it. Only the wind can move the clouds in the other direction. I am not the wind.

I try to warn people, sometimes, that they're not supposed to touch the flower. That if they get too close it may fall. They never listen, and when the shadow whispers, I stop trying. I stop caring if they are left out in the rain. Another word, and I've stopped caring at all.

My shadow protects me, comforts me, and builds a path for me where others have only stumbled and tripped through before. Everyone has their shadow, their demon. The difference is that mine is welcomed, used to my advantage. Others keep theirs on a chain, locked away at safe distance. But you should let it out sometimes, it can prove to be useful, that is, if you're not too scared of the dark. And if it overwhelms you and sucks away the very air from your lungs, take control of its power, and don't be afraid. For as long as there is darkness, there will be light.