Once, two children grew.
Bright lights spoke to them
They didn’t know each other
Bright, flashing lights, singing
Then speaking
Then screaming
YOU MUST BE SCARED OF THE DARK.

The first child was strange
She wasn’t scared of the dark
She loved her nightmares
She loved being safe from the monsters
While dreaming that she wasn’t

She wasn’t scared of the dark
She loved it
And the bright lights, they kept yelling
And she stopped listening
“YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE”
“YOU CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH THEM”
“YOU CAN’T STAY IN THE DARK FOREVER”
She didn’t listen.
She stayed in the dark, and was happy
She tried the light, but it scared her
So bright, so loud, no
The dark
Stay in the dark
…It’s not so bad in here

The second child was timid
She was scared of the dark
She had so many nightmares -
Was she safe from the monsters?
Maybe she wasn’t…

She was scared of the dark
She hated it
But the bright lights, they were yelling
And in fear, she listened
“YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE”
“YOU’LL NEVER MAKE FRIENDS OUT HERE”
“ALWAYS BE SCARED OF THE DARK”
She listened, she obeyed.
She stayed in the light, but she wasn’t happy
She was surrounded by smiles
But they weren’t real, they were lies
The dark
Don’t go to the dark
I’m not scared…
It isn’t that bad out here.

Time passed…
The first child
Found the second
They met at the boundaries
And knew
Knew who had it better
Despite everything

“The lights can be liars”
“But they keep me safe”
“You can be safe without them”
“I can’t be safe - I’m scared of the dark”

But these smiles didn’t lie
These faces weren’t scared…
And somehow
Neither was the second child
She stepped into the dark
The first child helped her
And…
She wasn’t scared

And when she at last came out
"I need to go home"
She left the first child behind
Who let her go,
And smiled.

And what the second child found when she left,
When she re-entered what she'd always known
…

…She wasn’t so scared of the light, either.