Phoenix Falling

So many years later and our fists are still clenched, our hearts still caged behind fortresses of iron and steel.

What is it to love your sister? Is it not easier to hate? To hold on to the anger? To build shrines to sanctify your pain?

Sherman Alexie writes, "How do we forgive our fathers?" But I ask, how do we forgive our sisters? How do we bury the jealousy and agony and absolute distrust of those who should have been our allies? How does one walk away from it? How can one possibly establish a relationship that doesn't hold at its core the unbearable knowledge that betrayal comes from all angles, especially those closest to you?

Because betrayal, whether it comes with whispered words or pummeling fists, cuts a trench in your soul. To climb out of it, I must rise from our ashes. But first, I must learn how to burn us down.