the way ahead was covered in darkness
I’m certain I was lost
there was no light
no hand reached out to guide me 
no quotes shined in my mind’s eye
nothing but plain darkness engulfed where I am rooted!

a little later, I saw shadows
it made me jump
the unexpected movement
but, if shadows appear there has to be light
a slight tinge of light, perhaps, 
a tiny ray spilled from some distant source of light
without knowing that it is actually swaddling me in a blanket of hope,
this blanket of hope might appear so feeble, 
but in a moment so fragile and dark, this frail coat of hope grew my courage 
and I held on,
without giving up
and intact stood my frail hope

then appeared the lush green 
the shadows disappeared in to greenery all around me
the gentle breeze played with the plants, 
leaves softly fell whispering greetings to me
the frail hope now blown into a stream of calm

the scary darkness bloomed into a ripple of peace
and disintegrated my nightmare 
letting a new dream emerge!

---

This fictional piece is written in response to the fifty-first edition of Fiction Monday for the above picture prompt and the word prompt ‘QUOTE’ hosted at Reflections by yours truly. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.