Noise

Step step step

Down the stairs

Step step step

Murmurs of breaths through the hallway

Step step step

Inching closer

Step step step…

Past the barricade, down the stairs

I can feel again

I can rest again

I close my eyes

Vulnerable to the shadows of night

Exposed to abuse and violence and monsters under beds and…

Step step step

Racing again

Step step step

Synchronized with my bare beating heart

Step step step

I feel his icy presence

Step step step

Crack crack step

My shield is broken, vision impaired

I lay a lifeless toy waiting to be played with, manipulated, used

And left for dead

Reduced to nothing

Step step step…

It stops.

The whole world stops

The noise leaves and takes my innocence with it, step step step

Then the noise comes back

And this time

It stays