The world will slap you in the face. You will be kicked in the teeth and you will ache in places where you did not know you had bones. You will bleed. This is certain because you are so small and you are no match. No, you will crawl in the dirt and you will starve for days and days. Your home will perish because nothing in the world is certain. Someday soon your mind will zip free like an uncoiling cassette tape. The black film will spin out of control and in your delusion you will feel so wonderful. So happy, so warm and full of that white light that you will close your eyes for the briefest of seconds. Don’t fall asleep. Don’t lie down. Stand up.

Do you know what will save you? Do you want to know? Look at me. Look me in the eyes. Watch the fractured shards of blood trace back along my eyelids and you will understand me better. You know the answer. It is that delicate white flower that you kept safe in your favorite book, the lifeless butterfly wing that you kept close. It is the life that grows in the acid-scarred lungs. It is that familiar scent of the old world. The people you loved, you love, the one you wanted to marry or just live with. Because somewhere inside of you, memories, smells, images, dreams, it is like a movie that lies awake calling you to live again. They dance inside of you, and you have hidden them well and you long for them and they will save you.

They can take everything from you. They can crush the rose, they can jettison you to the darkest pit. They can take away your air, your water, your food. And they can make the perpetual rain. But they cannot take your dreams. They cannot take them, because they are your last breath. They are the escape, they are the answer. Stand up and look at me, because I am real. Look at me and you will find a way out. Stand up…

In the face of relentless adversity, when the world seems determined to break you, remember this: your dreams are your sanctuary. They are the unyielding light in the darkest of nights, the whisper of hope that refuses to be silenced. No matter how battered and bruised you become, your dreams remain untouchable, a testament to your indomitable spirit.

Stand up, for within you lies a reservoir of strength, a wellspring of resilience. The delicate white flower, the lifeless butterfly wing, the familiar scent of the old world—these are the fragments of your soul that no force can extinguish. They are the essence of who you are, the core of your being that defies destruction.

In the chaos and the pain, find solace in the memories, the smells, the images, and the dreams that dance within you. They are your lifeline, your beacon of hope. They will guide you through the storm, lifting you from the depths of despair and carrying you towards the light.

So, stand up. Embrace the power of your dreams, for they are the key to your survival, the path to your redemption. Look into the eyes of your own reflection and see the strength that lies within. Stand up, and let your dreams lead you to a place where you can breathe, where you can live, where you can be free. ❤️🙏🏾

©️Beatriz Esmer