Notes from a Time Traveller by Elke Stevens

Your weapon was never fire nor metal.
No sharp blade, no arrow, no hardened armor.
It was a benevolent smile and a warm, open heart that overflows with kindness.

It was you, you who shattered the shield that was keeping my heart cold, closed, and dark.
The walls I’d built, stone by stone, from years of hurt and silence, you never pushed. You never stormed them. You simply stood there, patient and steady, until the cracks made space for the light.

The fiercest warriors are the ones who never raise a hand, only a heart.
And you, my fierce and gentle one, did more with kindness than any sword ever could.

You never demanded entry, but still you reached me.
You never forced me open, but still you softened me.
You saw the dark and did not flinch. You saw the cold and offered warmth.
You saw the closed door and waited with such grace, until I found the courage to open it myself.

All this, just by being you.
No fire. No metal.
Only the power of a heart brave enough to stay open, and a smile kind enough to make mine return.

© Elke T.B. Stevens