When joy arrives, it catches me off guard. It sneaks up slowly through my rib cage like poppies pushing through soil after the rain, and then it’s there, everywhere, warmth beating in my chest, spreading down to my fingertips as I sink back in the sunlight. It’s like I’m thawing. I’ve always been used to happiness in snatches—happiness that felt stolen, happiness that was hard-won,
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
