Out of the Ashes; she watched me as I healed!

She was there, every step of the way.

It wasn’t intentional, the way we met; we somehow collided.

I was hurt, reduced to a colourless shell of a person.

But I was surviving. I was finding ways to heal, to patch and stitch up my heart.

And at first, I thought, perhaps it is too soon, perhaps I should retreat into the cave.

Am I really ready?

The truth is, you’re never ready.

Not when you have been hurt so badly.

The truth is, you have to take the leap anyway.

So, I did.

And she was as patient as she was kind; she was as understanding as she was supportive.

And I arrived at a place where I could not imagine a world in which I was never stepping in time with her, because that is the beautiful thing about healing: you can do it, even while you’re falling in love.

Watercolour with subtle colour tones.

Inspired by a chapter from the book, "Out of the Ashes" by Courtney Peppernell