A Journal of Undergraduate Research at ECU While Daelyn did not entirely believe every word the brown-haired man said, she understood his point. Since the one person who had heard every detail, she could bear to share of the night that changed her lif e did not believe her to be weak, she f elt better than she had in months. Daelyn knew she would not magically recover f rom the visions that scarred her, but with at least one person in her corner, she f elt more alive than she had in a long time. As she sat in the psychiatrist’s office and discussed with Dr. Harper ways in which she could move f orward, she f elt confident f or the f irst time that she could recover, that she could be the mother Noah deserved. Although he was born f rom her worst nightmare, he would continue to be her greatest joy. As she arrived home with a sheen of tears and a glimmer of hope in her eyes, she met her son’s excited squawks with a small smile that glowed brighter than the sun. “Hey, baby,” Daelyn greeted Noah enthusiastically. “I missed you so much today, bea r!” she said as she tickled his stomach and kissed his cheeks. When her little boy sat up and put his hands on her cheeks and giggled as he pulled her cheeks apart, Daelyn laughed. Daelyn laughed with a lightness she thought she had lost. She was under no delusion that the nightmares were gone or that her son’s eyes would never again haunt her or that she would never f ind herself sobbing in the breakroom again. However, God had sent her an angel who brought calm amid a hurricane and joy amid mourning. For both Noah and herself , Daelyn would have hope f or a better f uture. Daelyn Grae would have hope f or a f uture a little less gray.
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