I know… You don’t feel the pain anymore! The wounds inflicted are still raw and the severe beating continues. Your back is lacerated…old wounds are yet to heal and new ones are leaving its imprint. It doesn’t affect you! The words are always the same…. have always been. The accusations endless! The berating goes on and on.. until the silent blows murders your sanity and your life’s energy is sapped. The hollowness … the empty feeling pervades your whole being. You are awake, but not conscious. All you wish for is to lie down and wait for the shroud of silence to engulf you. And, you have been trying…. You have been trying to put your thoughts into paper. Words fail! Pen poised.. you think about the time when it all started. The images and thoughts flash through your mind. You try to dwell on those moments and it brings a smile to your lips. Slowly, tumultuous thoughts take away those moments and your heart grows heavy. You shake out of the reverie and have decided to be immune. To shut your ears to the outside world and bottle up your feelings. It has always been like that… from the start… you knew it…. Still, you have decided to keep walking… I know…. Life hasn’t been easy! There have been good as well as bad times. You have fallen down and have stood up again. I know… One day you will overcome it. You will be strong enough to stand alone….. The drone continues.. . your mind seeks the memory of the sunny glade and the misty mountains where you had once been. Remember those early mornings, when the fingers of fog curled through the roots of the trees and made its way up to the sun kissed valley… You smile….