Peace before the storm, that’s the saying right? But no matter how
many times you hear it, you never know quite how bad the storm can be.
Sometimes it’s subtle, hurting over time; sometimes it’s fierce, bringing
wave upon wave of pain and misfortune upon you; and sometimes,
sometimes it’s deadly. Sometimes, it kills.
They can come in many different forms: tornado, hurricane,
typhoon, earthquake. Call it what you may but the result is quite often
the same. People getting pushed from each other, people crying,
people dying.
People teach you how to avoid them or what to do when one
strikes but do they know what it really feels like? Do they know how hard
it is to follow what they say when you’re in the middle of one?
You panic, you lose control, you start shaking and you can’t breathe.
Help me, you might say, or you might be too scared to even speak.
What happens when you are the storm? When you are doing the
hurting, the pushing away or the killing?
They teach you that too, but usually you may not realise it. Your
brain works against you, feeding you lies.
Or there might be a tipping point and you know you are the
storm but you believe there is nothing to do about it.
What happens when you go too far?
What do you do when you can’t go back?
Who do you go to when you’ve already cracked?
‘In the Midst of the Storm’ by Rowan Beddows was originally published in Issue 4, when Rowan was 15.
Purchase a digital copy of Paper Lanterns Issue 4 and start reading instantly
