A hallway you don't want to visit

I swear I didn't know this was the morgue
Montreal, QC
October 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Scene from a hospital (part 3): I've been here before. Between the ages of 4 and 6, the hospital where my father-in-law now is was something of a second home to me, a place where a little kid with bad hips was lucky enough to get groundbreaking care. I used to slip out of my bed at night and cruise the quiet corridors in a wheelchair before returning to my room where I'd report on my trip to my friend, Dimitri. He had broken his leg and was stuck in traction, so I took it upon myself to be his eyes.

I often came here, to this scary-looking utility corridor that never seemed to have any people in it. I was never frightened, though, because I believed then as now that this giant complex of old and new buildings was filled with folks whose only wish was for me to get better. And even if this particular corridor was dark and abandoned, guardian angels were everywhere, ready to swoop in on behalf of a wandering little boy. It didn't matter how it looked: Goodness was always there, even if you couldn't see it.

Yesterday, I stood at the end of this familiar spot and remembered, vividly, what it felt like to be 4, alone but not quite alone, surrounded by forces capable of turning something that looks foreboding into something far more comforting. Only this time the guardian angels are real, and even when I'm in a place like this, I'm never truly alone.

In adulthood as in childhood, this small moment in a strange yet familiar place reminded me of the power we all have within ourselves to navigate even the toughest chapters. I'm glad I had the 4-year-old me to show me the way.