She remembered a few years back being tremendously scared of that little creature that ran towards her. It didn’t matter
anyone telling her that it just wanted to play; it frightened her. But, over time, she began to accept that it meant no harm, and
once she got a dog of her own, she loved and treasured it more than anything else. Fear, in that case, had delayed her from
discovering the pleasures of a loving pet. Fear had not protected her.
FEAR
What is fear? Right there, the only thing between her on solid ground and her in the air must have been fear. But what does
it mean?
JULIA P. ELSTRODT
She stood there, staring down at her tiny feet lining the edge of the cliff. Any outsider would have noticed her contemplation
on jumping. Some may have thought she got caught up with a fairy tale that convinced her flying was possible. Others, that
she was unhappy and jumping was a solution. Her young age often caused the illusion of immaturity and led people not to
realize what was actually going through her head.
She remembered her first day at kindergarten. The thought of being temporarily abandoned by her dad at that strange place,
with people she didn’t know, had frightened her to tears. As soon as she realized that her dad had left her in a foreign land,
she got sick to her stomach. She remembered spending the rest of the day lying down, curled up, watching the other kids
from afar. When her dad finally came to pick her up, that familiar hug and the loving warmth of his chest finally settled her back
to health. She didn’t ever want to be stranded at that strange place again. Eventually, however, after a few days and weeks
of having to return there, her fear began to trickle away. She was able Ѽ