Warrior Blue

by Kelsey Kingsley

"It’s life and death,” she explained frankly, never allowing her smile to wilt. “Or, as you put it, a butterfly, but in reverse.”

"Your words are your heart, and it's broken, but it's not ugly. You're not ugly."

“Part of taking care of someone, is making sure you take care of yourself, and that includes your own happiness. And I know this, because when I’m happy, Freddy is happy,” she explained quietly. “So, if you were happy, Jake would be happy, too.”

“Don’t worry, Blake. You’ll make it better. You’re brave and you’re a warrior. You’ll make it better.”

every life, every day, should be celebrated. It’s all precious and sacred.”

“You don’t have to condone the actions of your children to maintain that unconditional love.”

“He was eating your neck!” he exclaimed, horrified.

“Because there are certain things in our lives—certain people—that are just supposed to be there. We don’t choose them, or what they’ll mean to us; they’re just a part of who we are.”

“And what is it you think I am to you?” I asked instead, surprised to find my voice so hushed, I could barely hear it myself. And without hesitation, she answered, “You’re the man I’m meant to love.”

“You fight hard and love even harder, and that’s what I want. I want you.”

In the beginning, we are born in our purest form. We then become ourselves during the stage between caterpillar to butterfly, so colorful and full of beautiful possibility, and we believe, with the blindest of hope, that we’ll be perfect forever. That time is endless. That there is a multitude of chances, of opportunities. Until one day, the reality of mortality settles in deep and dark, and we suddenly become aware of how limited we are. It is all so black and white. There is no grey. We live and we die, and there’s nothing more to it than that.