Light Girl

By Marita Thelander

"You are the light
of the world. A
city that is set
on a hill cannot
be hidden. Nor do
they light a lamp
and put it under a
basket, but on a
lampstand, and it
gives light to all
who are in the house."
Matthew 5:14-15

t's a pretty simple concept, really. In pitch-black darkness your eyes are automatically drawn to a candle flickering in the midst of the "inkiness." I like to sit in the dark of my room; except for the lone candle on the night stand. I like the dark. I wear black. My hair is black. Dark is my life.

I avoid light people. You know the kind of people that walk into a room all smiles and cheery, wearing bright colors. And the worst kinds of light people are the ones that have The Light in them.

I have The Dark in me and I like it.

Light and Dark have clashed from the beginning of time. The Light thinks they win, but The Dark always comes back.

There is this one Light Girl at school. She's quiet, not obnoxious like some of the Light people who try to save my soul from utter darkness. She's like that lone candle in my room. My eyes are automatically drawn to her.

I'm embarrassed to admit I like her. The only thing we have in common is our gender and third period English class.

All week we've been in the library during third period. The Light Girl insists on sitting at the same table with me, maybe because I don't talk and she can focus. What she doesn't realize is that I can't focus when she sits with me.

The first day I was extremely agitated when she asked if she could join me. I wanted to scare her away. I sneered at her, but she had already sat down. She ignored me and I was fine with it, but now it has become a habit.

"Hey Jess," The Light Girl spoke when she sat down yesterday. I didn't respond. She looked at me like it was the first time she'd laid eyes on me. "Jess, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

She smiled. I scowled. It wasn't meant to be funny.

"Does it bother you when I sit here?"

"No." I can't believe I said that.

"Okay, good."

A few minutes later she looked up, "So, Jess, why do you stare at me all the time?"

I felt the color rise in my face and refused to look at her anymore for the rest of the period. The bell rang; I scooped my things up and planned on a direct route to the exit. When I turned around to go, there was Light Girl standing in my way.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

I've never stood this close to a True Light person before. My insides shook, I began to sweat, and my eyes sought out the quickest escape possible. "You didn't." I refused to make eye contact.

I tried to maneuver around her. Then she did the unthinkable. She reached out and touched my arm. "Jess, please don't be afraid of me. We could be friends, you know." Her voice was so gentle. The shaking inside me quit and I dared to look into her eyes. I saw Truth there. After years of only seeing lies in the eyes of so many self-proclaimed Light people, I saw Truth in hers.

And now I stare at this candle in my room trying to make sense of it. How can one candle shed so much light in my dark world? My only conclusion is to admit that Light Girl is filled with the True Light.

It's hard to explain, but Dark people really do know, deep inside, that the True Light wins in the end. Why would we choose to stay in The Dark then?

I guess I'll let Light Girl shine the True Light in my world a little bit more.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm