Listening

Inside a large house nestled on the most beautiful street
sits an empty room on the ground floor.
The room is quiet, dark, and hasn't been lived in for quite a while...
he walks into the room briefly
too scared to actually soak in what is in there
he backs out.
as he backs out he sees an old picture on the dresser
one he hasn't seen in years.
It brings tears to his eyes
he forgot about the person in the picture
he decides to go back
this time actually turning the light on he goes in all the way.
For a moment he is taken completely back by his emotions
he stares at the pictures on the walls and starts crying
memories of a time he can barely remember
he finds a box in the closet
a small box filled with memories
a sponge still in the plastic
5 opened and half used packs of Lucky Strikes
several books that are marked in, drawn in...
notes from old friends
posters advertising old events
the smell of the box reminds him of so much he hasn't thought of.
He wondered in the back of his mind why he could never integrate this stuff
integrate it with the rest of the house.
Why was it locked away?
This room had been closed for so long
fear of the unknown
fear of going back into that place of child like simplicity
it has suddenly hit him that the other rooms were full
full of good things-but missing the life this room had to offer
this saddened him
should he rid the entire house of things and start over?
no.
Everything was too expensive, too much work, too much pain, too much happiness, too many memories to just throw away.
At breakfast he sat across the table from a friend with a soul from heaven
the friend without asking or knowing anything says...
"you should disburse the stuff from that room to the rest of your house...there are too many wonderful things in there to just let them sit...don't go through the pain of not seeing them or living there...."
"Im trying to live out the answers," I say smiling.
We eat and I go back to the house
I turn on the light and take the picture off the dresser
I move it into my bedroom and hang it on the wall.
This is the first step.

-Justin