The unlocking power of story by Tracy Williamson

Tiny Her

 
There was once a little girl who knew her world. She knew Mummy, Daddy, Lorraine, and Nanny.  She knew her toys, she knew favourite foods, cuddles, games, light and dark, bath times, bedtime stories, Mummy’s voice singing, Daddy’s voice comforting, running, jumping, climbing, rolling... This was her world, her life.  She knew it, she was safe.

One night she went to bed.  It was all as she knew.  Bedtime bath, teeth clean, hair brush, cuddle with Mummy, story with Daddy, little light in the corner; big dark everywhere else.She knew it, she was safe, she slept.

But when she woke, all had gone.

No little safe light but big dazzling white light; no gentle cuddle, but big gripping hands, no singing or story but shouts, beeps and rushing, No mummy or daddy but witches who stabbed and tied her up.

And there was pain, and there was fear

And she howled.
And it went on and on and on until she couldn't remember the cuddles and the giggles and the running, rolling and jumping; the stories and singing..
They’d all been sucked away and she had no words to say where they had gone.
Now when Mummy’s mouth moved there was just a noise; when the light shone there was just a blur; when she wanted to run or jump there was just heaviness or pain.

She was lost

And had no words to say
Or to know
And she cried.
And it went on and on...

But one day, years later
When she was now a big girl


With a tiny girl locked deep inside her.
An imprisoned Tiny Her that no one else knew about,
Not even mummy and daddy.
Tiny Her, alone, afraid, uncomprehending, lost.
Buried forever.

But something happened
All of a sudden, that one day


When she picked up a book

And started to read.
Reading was something she did every day
Her new safe.
She could hide in reading.
Another world
A place of fun and adventure.
It nearly didn’t matter that it wasn’t her own...

So on this day it was something normal

To pick up a book.
But as she read the first word,
Then the second
Then the sentence, paragraph, page and chapter...
Suddenly a door cracked open and a ray of light shine through into that scary dark surrounding Tiny Her.And it hurt, so much.
And she cried and howled.


But Big Her carried on reading too,
On and on
Reading.

And suddenly Tiny Her was no longer blind, deaf, uncomprehending, tied up....

But knowing, understanding, feeling and moving
Even seeing, hearing
And it went on and on.

With each new page.
Tiny Her connected, reached out, found and understood.
Light came in, darkness moved out.
And Tiny Her grew
Until the hiding place couldn’t hold her anymore.
The story she was reading had become her,
And she had become the story
And suddenly the door was opened once again to light, to cuddles, laughter, joy, to safe, known, peace.

And at last, Tiny Her was laid to rest.

Forever.

Tracy Williamson is an author and speaker living in beautiful Kent where she shares a home with blind singer/songwriter Marilyn Baker and Tracy's Hearing Dog Goldie.  Tracy and Marilyn work for MBM Trust an itinerant music and teaching ministry www.mbm-ministries.org