Between Bruises and Blooms

We didn’t know the sky was holding its breath.

We only knew two little girls needed something the walls couldn’t give them.

So we walked.

Past sleeping houses.

Past empty driveways.

Past a cat who smelled like home and accepted a stranger’s kindness without asking for forever.

Past a tiny frog waiting in the middle of the road, small enough to disappear if someone wasn’t paying attention.

We carried him to the grass.

Kept walking.

Kept rocking.

Kept believing the night would eventually grow quiet.

And it did.

By the time our front door closed behind us, the stroller had gone still.

Two little girls dreamed peacefully.

My shoes were tired.

My arms were heavy.

My heart was full.

Then I heard it.

The first drop.

Then another.

Rain against the windows, arriving only after we were safely home.

Maybe that’s all grace ever is.

Not a life without storms.

Just enough time to finish what love asked of you

before the rain begins.