We find ourselves in a peaceful clearing… within a forest that feels full of old magic.

We can hear a waterfall nearby, but just out of site.

Ms D suddenly appears in the middle of the clearing, and we realize that she’s surrounded by sleepy, dull-looking characters who (upon first glance) just seemed like part of the background.

After looking a bit closer, we recognize these characters as women who’ve seen just a bit too much of (the yuck of) life.

They all look slightly disheveled, and just plain worn down.

Ms D takes a few minutes to take in the scene, and we see her droop with the burden of sadness upon her shoulders.

She senses the womens’ desperation; their hopelessness (it is seeping from their pores as only helplessness does, after all).

We see with each passing moment that she looks more and more sad… more lost. It feels like her very heart is breaking.

*then*

She perks up… just the tiniest bit… as though she’d caught just a whiff of some rare, delicate flower.

*there it is again!*

She twirls around, searching out whatever it is that she’s caught wind of.

Then we see it.

A silvery, slivery glimmer of hope… rising out from the heart of one woman.

Ms D appears before the woman, just a few steps away from her.

She gently reaches out her hand in offering to the woman, who seems suspicious but then wordlessly accepts.

They walk into the forest where, together, they can fan the flame of that sliver of hope into a full-on bonfire.

That one bonfire will light up the night for other women to better see the pieces that they’ve lost or forgotten on their life’s path.

 

Join them?