I trudged through the snow, praying that this, whatever this was, would fade. I didn’t know if it was really possible to be completely numb yet completely woeful at the same time, but that was the path I was treading. I thought a walk out in the world would bring me peace, but it didn’t. Some might say I was looking at the cup half empty, but the breath of fresh air I was hoping for, the infusion of the perceived beauty I saw around me to my soul was nowhere to be found.

What did I really see? I saw a cold, harsh, land in which signs of life were either asleep or hiding. I saw the footsteps of others fading away as the next flake upon next flake covered any indication someone ever walked a mile here. I saw a monochromatic scene devoid of growth, everything frozen. I saw—what is that? In the distance?

I watched a small spark in the distance grow brighter and brighter. The snow began to fall heavier as it approached, but it shined so bright I could no longer see the world around me, only light.

I watched as it gathered above me and formed one single snowflake. I instinctively held out my hands as it fell softly, catching its glowing and fragile hope in my hands, assuming it would immediately disappear as snowflakes do, but something greater held it together. A voice spoke into my broken soul . . . All need light to see. Go shine bright.