She had withdrawn deep into the shadows of the cocoon. Everything around her had changed: the geography, the climate, the people, the fashion, the food. Her outlook too had changed. The blinders of idealism had been lifted, the glasses of disillusionment fit snugly.

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." St-Exupery.

She was forced to see through her bloody heart, the mess was self-evident. She was no longer in denial. She was cleaning it up and stopping the bleeding. She was now able to see what was essential. She was healing.

The cocoon was dark and comfortable. Only the essential was there too. Too much in life was superfluous and she now saw it for what it was.

The rain fell in droplets, each one tiny, but en masse a wall of water. She peeked out from underneath her brightly decorated flower umbrella at the grey and black world around her, concrete mirroring the grey of the sky, shadows mirroring the shiny black surfaces. She laughed as she passed a waterfall at the entrance of a building. As if this city needed more water. But it was still beautiful. An abundance of water now, compared to her last 2 years in the hot,dry desert. "Life is odd with its twists and turns, as many of us sometimes learns."