We forget sometimes how much the world can hurt.

It can hurt people we love,
people we don’t,
people caught in the middle,
even people who would give anything if they could just never, ever get hurt again.

But sometimes the hurt can’t be avoided. It’s just coming at us and can’t be stopped, it’s in us and can’t be seen, or is lying next to us in the dark waiting.

But sometimes it doesn’t come at all. Sometimes, we get this other thing that flutters down out of nowhere and stays just long enough to give us hope.

Sometimes but rarely, barely, but just when we need it the most and expect it the least, we get a break.