Mr and Mrs Glass

As the day came to an end, Mr. and Mrs. Glass found themselves sitting on their porch and taking in the last rays from their old friend, the Sun, as he prepared to pass out of sight from the horizon. As they sat in the peace and tranquility of the faintly amber dusk, they looked at each other with the same love and joy they had the first time they gazed upon each other all those years ago. The years and struggles of life were evidenced on both of them by the scars and fractures in their once unblemished reflective beings, but they were glowing with happiness because they had been reminiscing with the Sun about the memory of the Young Woman. Her story was their favorite, and the Sun also was particularly fond of remembering the story with His friends.

You see, Mr. and Mrs. Glass were not always so marred, as they appeared on the porch this night. For the beginning of their story, we need to travel back a long count of years. Too many for the Glasses to count or remember now, although they could recall the story as if it happened yesterday.

Mr. and Mrs. Glass met in a beautiful home filled with a loving family; a Father, Mother and daughter. The Father was a loving and exceedingly compassionate man, who loved the Mother and daughter above all others. They were first and foremost in his thoughts and heart. The Mother was overflowing with love and light. She took great joy in staying at home and taking care of the daughter. She was the daughter’s best friend and closest confidant. She spent her days teaching the daughter to love everyone unconditionally. She was always filled with the joy and light of the Sun, so much so that many would swear that she brought the light of the Sun with her wherever she went. Even on the darkest and dreariest days, the joy within her was so radiant that it could permeate even the most ominous darkness. The daughter was a vibrant young girl who was quick to love, quick to forgive and slow to become angry or hurt. She saw only the best in all she encountered.

Mr. and Mrs. Glass Were brought into this home, and given residence on opposite sides of the wide center hallway where they could see each other clearly. This is the moment they met each other’s gaze, and fell in love, and they had just as much love for the family that welcomed them into their home. For years, Mr. and Mrs. Glass took great pride in staring into the eyes of the Father, Mother and daughter, in order to show them the true measure of their beauty. Aided by the Sun, who’s rays gleamed directly onto their reflective being, when the family peered into their eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Glass could manifest that inner beauty in the mind’s eye of the onlooker.

One day, however, the happiness began to fade, and joy began to slowly be suffocated within the home. The Sun’s light began to dissipate, as the Father and Mother began spending their nights at war with each other. The Mother asserted that the Father spent too much time away, and no longer loved her and their daughter. The Father thrust back, arguing that it was his long hours away that afforded the life they had. These skirmishes went on every night for a long while. The daughter was often seen by the Glasses sitting at the foot of the stairs, with a sunken head and tear-filled eyes.

They knew that the Sun’s light was being driven out of the daughter by the daggers the Father and Mother hurled at each other, but they could do nothing to quell the darkness that was forming in the once peaceful and loving home. Each time the daughter would pass by them, Mr. and Mrs. Glass tried, in vein, to remind her of her beauty. But the daughter, who had taken the brunt of the blows had lost all warmth within her. She felt only pain and worthlessness, and her person began to show the signs of the sorrow that now consumed her.

The day would come when the Father and Mother would decide they could no longer live in their home. They would rip the daughter in half over the coming years, as they used her as a pawn in their war of attrition. They moved from the home they once loved, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Glass to wonder what would become of the Father and Mother, and more importantly their ever fragile daughter.

Over the next few years, Mr. and Mrs. Glass would see families come and go, but never they felt the joy and love they once saw from their first family. The family they hoped to see whole again one day.

As time continued to pass at what felt like a snail’s pace, Mr. and Mrs. Glass began to lose any and all hope of seeing the family they loved. Then something happened they did not expect. A new owner purchased the house, and before long, a Young Woman became the resident there. She had no family to speak of, and there was a cold air about her. Mr. and Mrs. Glass knew she was familiar to them, but they could not fully recognize her. She was so dark and clouded, that they could not fully discern her features. The Young Woman brought with her a great melancholy and sorrow. She carried a fractured heart, that had been so brutally cast asunder that many thought it unable to be mended.

Mr. and Mrs. Glass would soon come to understand that the Young Woman was the daughter they once knew. For a fleeting moment, they had a glimmer of hope at the thought of spending their days with the vibrant young girl they remembered. But their hope was quickly taken from them. The once bright and love-filled house was overtaken by darkness and sorrow. They could feel the gloom in the Young Woman, and it spread like a plague, until the Sun’s light completely dissipated.

Mr. and Mrs. Glass quickly came to fear the Young Woman. The shadow that followed her was of such magnitude that it seemed no light could pierce it. When the Young Woman’s gaze met theirs, she saw only scars and wounds. She loathed to gaze on herself, and was filled with rage and hatred every time she looked upon them. She would lash out in fits of rage, and strike them, causing fractures, and broken segments. She wanted to see them as she saw herself, and to make them feel all of her pain. Mr. and Mrs. Glass hoped and asked for the Sun to return, not to for them, but to save the Young Woman from her own calamity; to show her the great beauty and worth that was beneath what she could see.

Days became, weeks. Then months. Then years. The Young Woman completely retreated into the home she now had such disdain for. She shut herself off from all those around her, and withdrew ever more deeply within the dark reassesses of herself. Mr. and Mrs. Glass knew the walls and defenses she erected around herself were insurmountable for all, save one. The Sun’s light was all that could permeate her walls and disable her defenses. They cried out for the Sun’s gaze to pierce through the darkness that had come to surround the home. They began to lose hope, and believe that the Sun would never shine through them, or the Young Woman again.

Before long, a grim day came, all days had become that way in the once beautiful home, but this day was exceedingly dismal. The Young Woman made her way into the hallway, with a stool and rope in hand. She carried only one other object; a letter written to the Father and Mother she once loved. The parents she felt betrayed and cast off by. Her heart was filled with so much hate for them, that there were no kind words scribed on the letter. The content of the letter is far too heart-rending to repeat in its entirety here, so the ending will have to suffice.

She ended the letter with words that would pierce through even the hardest of hearts. Her desire was to leave her parents with a measure of the sorrow and wounds they had instilled on her all those years ago. The last few lines read, “I remove myself from this world, and from your lives. I will trouble you no longer. I am not worthy of remembrance, and with my leaving may I be erased from your memory.” She signed the letter, “The daughter you never wanted.”

You see, in the midst of the nightly skirmishes, and the bile spewed from the Father and Mother, one statement always lingered in her mind and heart. So many times she heard this uttered; “Our life together would’ve been better without ‘HER’ in it.” Mr. and Mrs. Glass heard this same sentence uttered—just as the daughter did—nearly every night. They hoped, seemingly in vein, that the Father and Mother would realize the fragile young life they were slowly obliterating with their deep cutting words, but the realization never came.

The Young Woman laid the letter on the table within sight of Mrs. Glass and upon seeing the words, Mrs. Glass became overwhelmed with a great and terrific sorrow. She bellowed a guttural cry that could be heard in the deepest pits and highest heavens. She cried out and asked again for the Sun to come. This time, with a fervor she had not felt before. She asked him to bring the light and joy back into their home, back into their rended bodies and back into what was left of the Young Woman’s life. As Mrs. Glass cried, the Young Woman placed the stool beneath a beam so she could easily string up the rope. Once she was certain the rope was secure, she fixed the noose around her neck, closed her eyes and prepared to leave the world that had so severely scarred her for so long. The world she was certain didn’t want her. In that moment, Mr. Glass closed his eyes and bowed his head. He had not seen the words from the note, but immediately understood the severity of the situation. As Mrs. Glass screamed for the Sun, Mr. Glass quietly pleaded, with a bowed head and closed eyes. He begged for the Sun to show the Young Woman that she was still the beautiful, vibrant daughter she once was. That she still had worth.

When they began to think all hope was gone, something indescribable happened. As the Young Woman stood on the stool, she opened her eyes. She held on to a last glimmer of hope that her Father and Mother would walk through the door, save her and embrace her. Even in the midst of all the hatred she had built up, there stood a daughter who had hidden a small hope deep in the furthest depths of her heart. She found instead a piercing light shining through every window; every crack and crevasse in the home. She was blinded—for a moment—by the light, but then her eyes focused. She looked upon Mr. and Mrs. Glass, and saw that all their fractures and brokenness had been healed. Where there was darkness between the cracks, now the light shined. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she saw herself, not as broken and beaten with the darkness between her scars, but with light in place of the darkness. The color was restored to her cold, and lifeless reflection. She saw the daughter she once was. She saw again the true measure of her beauty. Then her eyes fully focused, and she realized that this amazing light was emanating from the Sun.

As She turned back to gaze upon the Sun, she quickly realized the noose and stool were gone, and she was standing on solid ground. She collapsed at the feet of the Sun, and burst into tears. She was overcome with a guilt and shame she had kept guarded until now, but as quickly as it burst forth, it was wiped away. Her tears began to spread slowly through the dark and decrepit home, first like a slow stream, but the stream became a river, and then a rapidly flowing current sprung forth. The river of tears grew wider and deeper. The current became so powerful that everything murky, dank and worn in the home could no longer cling to any part of it. The darkness was being washed away; washed clean. Once her tears had spread through the home, and returned light and beauty back to every square inch, the Sun dried up her tears.

He lifted her as if it were effortless for Him. He embraced her, and spoke to her saying, “My child, I know the sorrow you have felt, because I have felt every bit of it with you. I have walked with you in your darkness, and I have held it’s true power at bay. I cannot bring your parents back here to you, for they are in the heavens where my Father, and his host dwell. But I can bring you joy in the knowledge that the love they held, and will always hold for you is far more than you can ever fathom. I can tell you that they held on to the guilt and shame of the pain they caused you, until they found me again. They asked without ceasing that you would find that same light and joy again. Before they joined my Father and I, I assured them that I would not let you succumb to the darkness. That I was keeping it at bay, and that the day would come when you would find the light again. You did not hear the cries of your friends, but Mr. and Mrs. Glass have been pleading for you all these years. When you thought no one could love you, someone still did. I have heard their cries, and have been at work, to fight the darkness for you. But I have also been waiting for you to choose to let down your defenses so that I could bring my light back to you. That choice had to be yours to make. In the moment you opened your eyes, and let hope back into your heart, you made your choice.

In the years you spent building up darkness and despair all around you, you began to believe that my light was no longer with you. You saw yourself as unworthy and undeserving of the light, and I wanted nothing more than to flood your life with it. You needed only to open your eyes—really open them—to see that I was never further away than right beside you; all around you. You are worthy, and you are beautiful beyond reckoning, not in spite of your wounds and scars, but because of them. You are one of mine, and I love you more than you can every fully comprehend. I have one thing to ask of you. It’s a big ask, but I know you are ready. I know you are capable, because I will be in you and with you, and I will make you capable. Learn to see the good in those around you, as you once did. Spread my light and my joy to all whom you encounter, and love them unconditionally as I and Mr. and Mrs. Glass have loved you. Show them that if they are in my light, they will never have to fear darkness. For even when it may feel as though shadow is closing in around them, I am with them. And I will never leave them. Will you do this for me?”

Almost before the Sun could finish the question, the Young Woman answered with a newfound eagerness and vigor. Her answer was simply, “Yes.” But she had never said that word with so much love and conviction. She had never meant a vow with so much fervor and fullness of joy as she now felt. The Young Woman knew that her call was set forth on the arduous journey the Sun had prepared her for.

She also knew that the home that had been a prison for her for so long was now a place of refuge, where she could return whenever she needed rest. She looked upon Mr. and Mrs. Glass once more before setting out, and in that moment they knew that the broken girl was now a mended and powerful Young Woman. She was ready to be the point of the blade the Sun would use to fend off the darkness from all she encountered. The Sun had galvanized her and her heart against all that the darkness could bring to bear. As they gazed upon each other this time, they knew that the Sun loved them as He loved her. They knew that their purpose was fulfilled, and that they had served one of His beloved well. They knew that He was well pleased with them and that they had fought the good fight for His sake.

Many more years passed, and old age caught up to Mr. and Mrs. Glass. But the memory of the Young Woman never left them. They looked for every opportunity to speak with the Sun, and remember the Young Woman they once served. They found joy in the knowledge that she had become a servant for the Sun, and His light shown and pierced through her so that it touched everyone around her.

The day came when the Sun would call them home, but not to the heavens. He would call them to dwell in the Young Woman’s heart, along with Him. For He knew that her journey was not at an end, and she would face additional times of strife and tribulation. He also knew that her strength was in the reflection of herself she saw in Mr. and Mrs. Glass on that once dark day. As long as she could look upon her old friends, He knew her strength would never fade.

–The End.