What makes the running child in an everlasting dream suddenly slow at the base of a breath, to crouch here, beneath a rib? It is a passing shadow. It is not unlike hunger or pain, but it is neither, exactly.
To the child, it is not unlike the uncanny feeling of seeing someone familiar wearing the changed face of a stranger, and this is cause for stark concern, like nightfall at midday.
So, the child waits here, crouching behind a rib, until it passes. The child waits for a long time. Naturally, they continue to think, this will pass. Naturally, they whisper comforting phrases while waiting. Like one day. Like when it is safe. Like ever after.
Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ shows how a child will never understand betrayal. Hopefully they find, give, and receive love, to keep the void at bay, if not fill it.
Oh, that beautiful book. Thank you, Ryn.
Wow.