The Light Is Already Inside

The sun is just beginning to touch the edge of your window, turning the dark into a soft, gray quiet. You realize you have been holding your breath, waiting for a door to open that you know is locked from the inside.

The silence of the room feels heavy, like a weight you have been carrying all night. But listen — the light does not need the door to open before it can reach you.

It is already here, in the dust motes dancing in the first ray of morning. It is in the wood of the floor beneath your feet.

It is in the very air you are finally remembering to exhale. You do not have to break the lock to be free.

The light is already inside the room with you. And it has been there all along.