A Shock of Wonder

There was once a woman who held, in the pit of her stomach, a sense of dread. It was born of frequent sorrows and lapsed hopes, dark dreams and muddled wishes. The structure of her life had been very little changed since childhood, her days filled with patterns that were typical to the every day nature of living. But the dread within her was there nonetheless, languishing in its existence, relishing its ever-growing self that grew stronger with each moment of forgotten belief that things could be any different than what they were.

            Until one day when the woman woke earlier than usual. She saw the sun rise, and the trees lighted all in rosy gold. The grass was covered in shining drops that had the look of a million diamonds. It happened all at once, where the world seemed to stop itself and breathe.

            Just like that, this breath of the fantastic quashed her sense of dread as though water were poured on fire. And in that single moment, her world began to change.

            For a shock of wonder is the ready antidote to dread.

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