16/07/2026
I saw a girl with pigtails, wearing a purple woollen sweater.
On it was a pink and blue balloon, but the balloons were little pom-poms.
The little girl was sitting inside a large willow tree, playing with her Barbies.
The little girl didn't want to go outside, so I told her it was safe.
I told her we were together and that she didn't have to be brave on her own anymore.
So she took my hand, we walked outside of the willow tree.
We balanced along the large logs, just as children do, until we suddenly stopped in our tracks.
She pointed towards a group of shadow people standing on the hill.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Those people are scary," she replied.
I squeezed her hand and said, "I understand. But let me tell you something.
They're not as scary as they seem. We can do another brave thing together."
I told her that, very carefully, we were going to close our eyes and sit down right in the middle of the circle of people.
And that's exactly what we did.
Then I said, "Close your eyes, hold my hand, and listen to my voice. Sometimes things look scary and dark on the outside, but guess what?"
"What?" she asked.
"Sometimes we get lost..
We protect ourselves with our own light, which is our love flowing like a bright star.
"So when it's dark, what do people look for when it's scary?"
"A light," she answered.
"And what are we?"
"Umm a bright star."
I smiled.
"That's right.
Now I'm going to count to three, when you open your eyes, you're going to see what we've always been able to do."
"Ready?"
"Okay."
1...
2...
3...
She opened her eyes and held my hand tightly as she watched our hands reach out and touch the dark, shadowy mist.
As soon as we did, it lit up and revealed a familiar face.
"It was my Nana from my mum's side."
She smiled exactly as I remembered her and she said, "There you are."
The little girl was so happy to see her.
She ran into her arms and gave her the biggest hug.
I had so many questions, but no words would come.
Tears streamed down my face.
Nana simply smiled, gently at me putting the little girl back down, she stepped aside to reveal another familiar face.
It was my Pop from my dad's side.
I could smell the to***co he used to smoke so strongly.
He looked exactly as I remembered him peaceful, happy and content just doing his own thing..
He looked at me and simply said,
"Hi, love."
And again, I was overwhelmed with tears.
But just smiled.
There were other familiar faces around me too, people I recognised and knew, but there wasn't enough time to speak to everyone.
So there were hugs, "I love yous," and goodbyes.
The little girl and I stood together as Nana and Pop stepped onto a bright white platform leading towards beautiful golden gates.
They waved goodbye as they moved into the light up to the bright golden gates.
It hurt deeply to watch them go, but I knew I needed to stay strong for the little girl.
I took her hand, we stood together on that bright platform.
I sat down with her and I told her that we are always connected, day and night.
That we will always be brave.
That we will always choose love and light.
That things which seem scary aren't always as frightening as they appear.
That all we need to do is keep moving forward, we smiled at each other.
Then we hugged each other tightly.
As we hugged, we became one, A beautiful rainbow light...
The little girl had never been lost.
She had simply been waiting for me to believe she was worthy of love.
Maybe that's true for all of us.
Maybe it's found in the moment we stop running from ourselves and start walking beside ourselves instead.
So if you're still searching...
Go back.
Sit with your younger self.
Hold their hand.
Tell them they're safe.
Tell them they're enough...
Because the person you've been looking for has been inside you all along.
And when you finally meet them again...
You'll discover the light you were searching for was always yours.
Always acknowledge YOU 💖
