Glimmers

Children are so frequently told they have wonderful imaginations that she never took the signs seriously. She'd always noticed the shadows at the corner of her eye, the glimmers of light that didn't belong. It was her favorite game to pretend she was the focus of some Otherness, but only a game.

Devotion to her studies left little room for make believe. The arrival of glasses gave her the excuse she needed to ignore the phenomenon entirely, a reflection, light off the frames. Nothing to bother with.

As an adult, the apparitions still appeared. On the dark, lonely nights she would give in and play at being special. Flickers of recognition for a worthy heart.

Then she married and the lonely times were fewer. Many new distractions presented themselves. Career and nights out were soon replaced by talks of family. At eight months along, the occurrences were easy to dismiss as just another odd symptom.

It was as she delivered her baby, in that joyous and terrifying moment, that she realized two things: it had never been a game, and she hadn't been the chosen one after all.