He left when she was three,
along with him, her innocence.
Raped for two years,
she had no idea who to trust.
Her mother did not believe her;
telling her it was her imagination running wild.
When really she was holding on;
holding onto the shred of hope that her daughter was lying.
The girl, afraid, grew lost.

Thirteen years later she still felt anxiety
grow like an ugly monster
whenever a boy was around.
Timid and mute, she never spoke.
A boy, one year older, decided
he was going to get to know her.
Over the years he peeled back layer after layer
and grew protective.
She’d felt safe for the first time in a long time.
The girl, still lost, but being guided by a light.

Twelve years later she stood
at the end of the aisle.
A bouquet in her clutches and a veil over her face.
A tear slipped her eye as she realized
“Wow, this is actually happening.”
The doors opened
and she saw that boy,
the one who’d helped her learn to trust again.
“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
A single tear fell as her smile grew wide,
“I do.”
The girl, once lost, was now found.