Things should have been
so different
to the way they are
now.

Then she smiles, like it's
the first time she's seen sun
after a decade of winters.

Instead,
she's as still
as a leaf-littered pond,
dark water evaporating,
waiting desperately for rain.

They scribble on notepads,
the sound of their pens
scratching the judgemental air.

Stella scribbled
in thick black texta
across half the pages
of my best storybook,
filled with people who ventured
where their hearts took them.
Beautiful worlds beyond mine.

I'm all alone,
fuming at myself,
waving a great flag
of failure.