Breaking Free

via Daily Prompt: Rebel

As much as possible she wanted to keep the peace, to stay out of trouble.  She kept her head down, tried not to ruffle feathers, while keeping her wits about her.  Oh she has causes she supports, but chose to work with authorities as best she can.  She loved to go out in the world, yet her own world she kept small and safe, away from prying eyes.

But fate has a way of playing tricks on people on the verge of change.  And around her things start to unravel.  Just as she was getting more successful and courageous, people started talking, around her, about her.  Undermining her strengths, her worth, they spread rumors, imagined slights, petty issues of people caught up in the crab bucket effect.  Until she knew she had to go.  Up and leave.  In her openness and indiscrimination, her small world was infiltrated by the unscrupulous, the bigots, the small people.  People she allowed to gain authority in her life.  Her growth, identity was on the line.  She needed to crawl out of that place growing darker, smaller by the minute.  She had to.

And she DID.  She rebuilt her world from scratch, embraced her strengths and seized her opportunities, those she hesitated to take before.  In the process, she was gifted with people, friends of her choosing.  And other people came into her life, chose to stay, to matter, and she matters to them, too.