-Giving up the Ghost 💀

[Words to Image. I enjoy when an image grabs my attention and tells me it's possible story. Especially when it isn't the obvious. This may be a different perspective than what you may have seen. But isn't that the beauty of it? I write what I imagine and then I share. Enjoy.]

She had no more fight in her, so she gave up the ghost. The earth was cold and hard. Stones cut into her stomach reminding her of what she chose. She was here because she put herself here. It wasn't but a day ago and her choices were still very questionable. She made them anyway; she made them wrong. They were made hastily and selfishly. She always gave into the moment. It seemed like a better thing to do, at the time. It felt safe. But, today, was reckoning day. Today brought about the same selection of decisions promising the same future results. She chose her path. She felt her body relax and then release. It was a foreign feeling. Usually, everything was always strain at a thousand miles an hour. No one could get close to her that way. She made each day's priority a protection of self and nothing or nobody would ever crack through her barriers. She made sure of it. But the fight was too much, and her body could never last. So, she gave up the ghost.

She felt it pull loose from her and rise up high, mighty and forceful. She wasn't ready to end the game, but she had no more plays. This time, she had gone too far. The smoke rose and wrapped around her ghost, showing its power, demanding respect. But she was tired. Today was the very last time she could muster up the energy to fight. She let it go.

It rose higher and higher. Its feet stood on the small of her back, and she could feel the weight of it. Its toes clinched and pulled at her skin. It attempted to take hold and pull her up as would the talons of a hawk. It wanted her. It tried, but it failed. She had made up her mind and this time there were no second guesses. This one was permanent. The ghost released and floated upwards, out of sight. One of them had just lost the battle. She remained where she was, still and lifeless, prostrate against the cold dusty earth. The world she was used to had ended. What was always next, didn't come. Silence overcame her. But this time it gave her hope.

She jumped to her feet and began to remove the many cancers that kept her down. She threw them all away. She threw out the bottles of liquid that numbed her every problem. No more did she need the snake that constantly bit at her veins. She wrote down every excuse she had ever made and individually burnt them, one at a time. As she watched each tiny piece of paper disintegrate into nothing, she felt the words loosen their chains on her. She had finally slipped free and the sensation was wonderful. Amends were made, eventually earned, but it took time. Trust was regained. Life was relived. Her ghost had dictated her world, but she took the power back. She chose differently. The fight had been won but she needed to feel the cold earth pressed against her belly to truly want it. The want is not always strong enough. But today, it was for her.

She gave up her ghost ... and won.

[Life can be brutal. Life can be hard. Your ghost will never give you up so you must be strong enough to give up on it. You're worth it.]