Thank You

The earth was cracking as I watched cars and people careening into one another. We were all desperate to stand still. I watched my mom holding my niece's hand and maintaining an aura of calm as I struggled to stand up straight and out of the way of SUV's and BMW's. The sound was deafening and the smell of gasoline and split earth permeated the air. The dust climbed into my mouth and into my lungs. I coughed and tears sprung from my eyes. "When will it stop?" I screamed. No one could hear me. "What is going on?" I begged. In an instant I caught my mother's eyes. Her eyes betrayed her because then and there I knew she didn't have the answers. All of our calm and strength was coming from a false sense of security only a mother could offer. I lost it. Inside I was ripping apart just as much as the earth around me. When I looked down I could see the skin around my knuckles cracking and bleeding. The dust in the air irritated my rapidly growing wounds. I ran for the grassy hills. My blood spilling forth and contrasting the green made me realize this was all in my head. "This" being the catastrophe all around me. Suddenly everything went quiet and I turned around and all the people and cars were gone. I looked down and my hands were solid and healthy. I touched my heart and my hand fell into my chest. I held onto my beating heart and stared up at the blue sky and I mouthed the words "Thank you".