Sweet Serenity of Family

Anna and Adam had been looking forward to the arrival of their daughter Sadie since the start of their marriage. Now here they were, watching her play in their backyard amongst the brightly bloomed juniper flowers. A smile spread across Adam’s face as he watched the way Sadie moved her tiny hands, creating silk tissues out of thin air that she held in her hands in wonder.

Before they had known it, Sadie was two years old and much to her parents chagrin, she seemed to be growing up fast. Anna believed that no matter how quickly time went by, she was determined to savor every moment with her family and enjoy the comforting levity of staying at home with each other that the pandemic had brought.

Adam and Anna did just that, cherishing each moment and weaving soft music between their house and the glowing dusks. It was a leisurely paced period of their lives and their evening events often centered around Sadie's imaginative play—which if one looked on for long enough, was often enchanting. Sadie was a bright, strong-willed toddler and not a day went by when her parents were not beaming with pride, as they watched her little world unfold one dreamy moment at a time.

No one could have expected the of the story, when tragedy struck. While on an outing, Sadie was lost in a crowd of people, and despite Adam's and Anna's desperate search, there was no sign of her. In the phase, they found themselves desperate and despondent, fearfully hopping between leads of the unknown that never seemed to come to fruition.

At what felt like the eleventh hour, Sadie was discovered at a mountainside. The child watched from afar as a divine glow surrounded her, and soon enough she was in her safety with her parents. It was in this hallway of celebration and relief, at the peak of the danger, that the reached its end. In this abated state, Sadie's parents shared a light of knowledge that is, if one can show resilience for the ones they love, anything is possible. As if to celebrate this victory and the strength of this new idea, a gust of wind blew silk tissues towards Sadie, the scene a symbol of her protection armors.

Sadie and her family returned home content that same night, with a feeling of thankfulness, love and peace deepening in each part of their souls. From then forth, Adam and Anna promised to always place high value on the love and protection they could offer each other. As for Sadie, she continued to live a life of dreams and happiness, just as she always had—the golden ray that she was for her parents.