Innocent

Your hair lay upon the pillow like honey poured from a jar. I thought you were asleep. I closed my eyes and let the images dance before me. I heard you begin to sob. And your sobbing grew louder and louder. I let that sound dance before me, too.

You nudged me and told me how bad you felt. You told me that you had stayed up all night and that you had promised yourself that you would not. And now you felt so aweful.

My mind was in a state of confusion. The lack of sleep had dulled it. My thinking creaked like the rusty gears of an old clock. I didn't know what to say. My own thoughts turned to my own guilt. Maybe it was my fault. Should I tell you that I'm to blame? Should I tell you to forget about it. That it is no big deal.

Then the truth came to me. You are beautiful. You are wonderful. And you have done nothing wrong. That is what we call Grace. That is what love brings us. Love takes us to a place where we are not guilty and we are not bad. Love takes us to a place where we are beautiful, where we are good.

That place is what we call Heaven. And the path to Heaven is what we call Love.

You, Lydia, took me to that path. And that is why I could come up with that answer. I could tell you that you were innocent because I felt innocent myself. I could tell you that you are beautiful and wonderful and that you have done nothing wrong because that is how I feel about myself.

Love deeply and you will go to heaven.