Hannah Stephenson: "The Student"

 But I don’t want to be a student of fear.

                                 What would you rather be a student of?

I don’t know.
Love.
Adventure.
                                                          You’ll have two teachers.

I mean, I’m grateful--
          
                 Your teachers are Fear and also What Scares You.

So you’re saying it’s too late to shift my studies.
   
                                                                You chose each other.
                                               Your training has already begun.

Ok, fine. Is there anything I can be doing differently, to
make this more enjoyable.

                                                                    It’s a good question.
                                                                                                 No.

So, I should just keep doing what I’ve been doing.
   
                               That’s right. Keep watching that darkness.
                                                                       You’re doing great.

"The Student" by Hannah Stephenson. Published online at The Storialist, January 6, 2014. © Hannah Stephenson.

Image credit: Film still from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, by Stephen Spielberg, © 1977, found at this link (originally color).