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The Ones with Smiles

                The room is dark and the young boys are pushed into the corners by their own fear. They don’t know what is happening, why it’s happening, or what’s to come. Their fathers disappeared, their mothers were killed in front of their eyes, their sisters raped and burned, and their friends died from hunger and disease. The traumatized boys are all alone and they are scared. What evil will come to devour them?

            One of the boys accidentally moves the loose board covering up the lonely window and sunlight pours into the blackness. First tense, pre-mature muscles fill the room, and then curiosity takes over.

            Little eyes gather around the luminescence. This is when the drought of smiles ceases. The boys sprint out the door laughing and dancing. The heartfelt sun welcomes them out with hugs on their cold skin as their feet splash in the puddles of rain water left behind. Joy is their only emotion. They have completed their goal of survival.

            Survival was their only reason for living. They lost their family. They lost their innocents. They lost the clothes on their backs and the roofs over their heads, but they made it through the dimmest days. Nothing will ever be as bad as what they just overcame.

            Everything is going to be okay. It’s time to celebrate and enjoy what they are given: life. The young ones cuddle and tackle; they play and rejoice.

            Heartbeats can’t keep up with their bare feet running through the tall grass. Freedom comes to mind and they jump, try to fly up to the heavens and kiss their mothers, jump into their father’s arms, and embrace their sisters.

            The sun smiles while watching wounds heal and sicknesses fade. It flies westward across the sky then dives below the greenery.

            A lively fire is warming the sleeping children; the moonlight keeps them under protection. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but everything will be okay.

They will find a way to rebuild their lives. They have air in their lungs and God in their hearts and that is all they need. They will be remembered as the ones with smiles who made it through the night. They will be the ones who say, “Bring on tomorrow.”