I Found Myself

I found myself hiding under a rock today.
"What are you doing there?", I asked. "I'm hiding", came the reply.
"Why are you hiding?" "I'm upset and scared", was the answer. "There are many reasons. You wouldn't understand. Please go away."
"Why don't you come out and play?"
"Play! Play! Are you kidding. Can't you see I'm trying to hide here. Can't you see this is serious. Play? How could you even suggest it?"
I became sad for a moment, not for myself, but for what I saw. The pain, the resistance, and the fear. Though I respected the request and left.
I played anyway that day in a field of flowers. I ran here and there, hiding every now and then in the tall grass. I laughed, I cried, I sang to the wind. I played unabashedly.
And then by chance when I came across the place I found myself hiding...I saw myself smiling.