~Bliss I open my eyes, only to be met by the translucent darkness surrounding me. The brick shaped gap on the mud walls is the only path through which the light can enter. A thatched roof, dried hay trapping the equally dry air, lacking the warmth of a lit hearth that a thriving home should have. I feel a caress on my arm, gently gliding down from my head, like father slowly loving his child. My eyes adjusted to the darkness by now, and I saw him. My father. An old fragile man with a bony frame and only a few white hairs left to count on fingers, a figure devoid of a hearty meal for days at stretch, hands quivering like the seismograph recording an earthquake that has originated in his heart and I'm the canvas of his art. Securely tightening my spine with his scawny fingers, he murmured slowly, "๐๐๐. You need to take on this world alone. Make sure your spine never bends, it's better to be broken than that." ๐ต๐๐๐. ๐ผ'๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ผ ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐๐๐๐ค ๐กโ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐๐๐. "๐๐๐. Is fear engulfing you? Don't be afraid of it. Fear makes you alive, but don't let it get into your head. If you are scared now, how will you fly high?" ๐ต๐๐๐, ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐๐?