There was an emptiness inside that the woman couldn’t identify nor coax out of its recess.

Her stomach is full. To whet her appetite, she found temporary comfort in indulging in sweet, savory, sour, and tangy flavors. Welcomed by her lips, the flavors tantalized her nose tip. They took a ride on her tongue, sliding down to her belly before settling in on her hips.

It wasn’t in the loins. She gets satisfaction by filling every orifice to feel pleasure or to simply feel after the brief cessation of life.

It wasn’t in sight.

The world reveals its wonders and wretchedness alike as she watches from behind tempered glass. In the age of social media, people morph into spectacles solely for the likes. Life is a virtual voyeur’s buffet, for there is plenty for the eye to see.

The emptiness wasn’t in her mind. She fills her mind with adventures, discovery, and research. She is an answer woman for all who want to be in the know.

It wasn’t in her soul. She’s a believer of all things supernatural, the paranormal, seen and unseen. 

Even though her heart is closed to others, it is open to I AM.

Look into the abyss, and it looks back at you. *  Look into the light and become enlightened.

The cause and effect of emptiness were clear, but its whereabouts eluded her.

Closed doors lead to a hardened heart. Fill the void even though the location is unknown. The cure was simple but not easy.

It required courage.

She knew emptiness wasn’t in her heart. Crossing her heart, X marked the spot. It was the location of her hidden treasures.

One man’s treasure is another man’s trash.

She closed the trove to all outsiders. Many trashed her treasured possessions one too many times. 

An airtight seal. She’s locked up tighter than Fort Knox to all intimate and professional endeavors.

A safe should be opened at least once a month, or the contents will shrivel and wither away.

Now, the time had come when she’d have to open her chest. It had been 36 months overdue.

Her friends would say she was the most courageous among them. She would say,

“it doesn’t take courage to do what scares most people. Doing what scares YOUR•SELF requires courage.”

And she didn’t have the heart or courage to reveal the contents of her trove, only to have the world trash them again.

She felt she’d die if the world rejected and ridiculed what she thought were her best gifts.

Life is a tenuous existence, and bodies are fragile. Close the doors due to our vulnerability, and we die.

She would eventually die anyway, with or without her treasures buried away. But while she had breath, she had a choice.

She could and would reopen her treasure gallery for the whole world to see, this time leaving it open for good.

Her emptiness was replaced with outsiders’ appraisals—the value of her treasures now in the eye of the beholder.  But forever treasured by her for achieving self-fulfillment.

* And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche. “Beyond Good and Evil