Wind rippled through my hair, and I watched it blow away in fascination. Like me, it held on despite the elements. Day transitioned into night while I studied my hair, yet I only turned my attention to the sky when the faintest hint of light began to shine above moon-tossed waters.

“Mom, can you hear me?” I called to the universe. “I’m coming for you!”

The stars seemed to twinkle in response, and I felt the grin rising across my face. “I need you more than ever now. You could have taught me how to navigate this ocean.”

I glanced past the soft, sandy beaches I stood on, watching the black waves dance forward. “There’s nothing but darkness in it. Pain, frustration, anger, hate…hurt.”

Entranced by the combined beauty of the pure sky and the desolate water, I stepped forward, footprints following in my wake. “I know what you would tell me. That it’s just life. That we’ll always have the darkness no matter how far we try to sail away from it. But I can’t help but hope that with the right boat, I could escape.”

I turn behind me, and there lies a completed raft, made of driftwood and other scraps of kindness I have found along this beach. Notes and words of compassion, waterlogged but still intact, comprise the sail. I have found friends within the driftwood, and I know that the handmade ropes can tie the boat together better than all others.

“Am I the only one who struggles like this?” I ask her again. “I think I am sometimes. I wonder if it is really worth it to keep trying to build this boat.”

However, I take the main rope and begin to tug it towards the ocean. “Someone came to me once. He couldn’t take me away from my island with his boat, but he was able to stop and stay awhile. He’s the reason I’m not up in the stars with you yet. Although he put it differently.”

I pushed the raft into the water, holding on tight lest the waves carry it away. “Maybe I could be that friend for someone else. Would you like that, Mom?”

Climbing in and shoving off from the shore, I grab my oar and begin to row. Though the dark water beats hard against the side of it, the friendship I built the raft from keeps me afloat.

Above me the stars twinkle, and I smile.