Kayla Smith

The Darkness Guardian

On a cold, Northern Canadian night, a young couple sit gathered on a comfy, grey couch, cuddled under a white cotton blanket. Each reading a book as the internet is down; listening to the wind snarl, like a wolf blowing snow with every deep howl. The crackling fire with a gaze so sharp, so bright, it is as if there is an owl staring at them with their piercing yellow eyes. Creaks and faint scratches as a village of little grey mice attempt to make a home in the basement for the winter. "Stay warm, don't let your feet touch the ground. Keep your toes wrapped under his legs. Protection." The woman's heart whimpers to herself. Scratchy legs resembling a cat's whiskers, it is worth the tingling sensation in her little piggy’s.

No One Fights Alone

On May 12, 2017, I gave birth to my second child and was already the mother of a 1-year-old. A few good days in the hospital until I suddenly fell ill. My chest hurt, a pain so sharp, so crippling. I could no longer breath. I was hunched over, screaming in agony. What the hell is going on? My doctor thought I had a blood clot in my lungs from the caesarian section I had to have. Why else would a perfectly healthy, strong, and young woman have her lungs so full of fluid and why else would her heart be stopping?....Wrong. I almost wish this would've been true. It could've been better than the alternative. Emergency transportation to a larger hospital, many CT scans later, and "YOU HAVE CANCER." What? This can't be real life. I'm only 25-years-old. I have a 4-day-old daughter and a 1-year-old son at home. I'm in a happy marriage to a wonderful man.