The Price

Ask anyone who walks this Earth, and most will say they

just want a peaceful life. A meal at the table enough to fill a

belly. A hug from someone they love. A warm bed to sleep

in. A home filled with love. A lot of laughter and someone

to share a drink with. At the end it is the people who pay for

the carnage. The mother who never sees her son again. The

father who never comes back home. The brother and sister

who will never know the joy of a shared meal again. The

aunt who returns but doesn’t smile anymore. The friends

lost along the way. A thousand homes wrecked and a million

memories shattered. All because someone else decided to

send a war to knock on their door.

~~ Nikita Gill ~~

Darling, I should have reminded you of what you are…

“Darling, I should have reminded you of what you are. I should have told you be kind, but remember, kindness does not mean being covered in soot, and used, and laughed at, and forgotten. I should have taught you courage means standing up for yourself, and what self-worth truly means.

You do not need to wait for permission; no one will think less of you when you decide to take back what has always been rightfully yours. No one deserves the right to steal from the garden of your heart that you so lovingly grew, and swallowing your own pride should not be one of your chores. Let no one tell you that kindness and courage can only wear the skin of giving up your self-worth, that you cannot wear your self-respect like it is armour. Stand up for your own human dignity and roar.”

~~ From ‘Cinderella’s Mother Sends Her a Message from Heaven’ ~ a re-imagining of the Cinderella story, included in the book ‘Fierce Fairy Tales — Poems & Stories to Stir Your Soul’ by Nikita Gill