When I close my eyes, I shut the doors of my soul against the bitter winds
that sting my skin and freeze my heart. I slip into my secret place, the
world
of my own making. I feel the gentle flow of emotions as they whisper
against the edges of my mind, a river of dreams in a tangled wood. I gaze
into it's
Murky depths and plunge into the fathomless abyss, swimming through clouds
of enigma until at last I find the bottom. From where I lay, I see that the
murkiness
begins to recede, and moonlight wraps my body in the folds of its silver
blanket. I feel the sand beneath my fingertips and gather it into the palm
of my hand,
sifting, feeling, holding each grain up to the light, letting it rub
against my skin until it is raw. A shutter courses through my body as I
feel the tug
on my soul. I cry out, desperately fighting against the relentless force,
but alas, the pull is too great, and I must leave my secret place until the
day
has faded once again.