By The Light Of A Firecracker

...Then, out of nowhere, her entire life seemed to change. As her faith grew, so did her strength. With strength came respect, with respect, love. Soon, she was seeing her hopes and dreams snap together like pieces of a puzzle that had been too long seperated. Everything had been there all along- the man she loved was a long-time friend, the career, an expansion upon what she was already a part of. The people she'd been looking for all along had always been there, and always would be. The word 'love' took on an entirely different meaning, both in the romantic and familial senses. She saw clearly now the people who had never budged, and was confronted with what it really meant to be in love.
Trust was not a thing to fear.
Love was not a thing to hoard.
Family was not limited or even understood.
Her heart grew bigger, and her eyes wider. She began to see physical differences, too- she somehow looked older, without having aged. Her once sweet beauty had, at some point, blossomed into a regal quality in her looks. Perhaps, she thought, it was the strength showing through. Perhaps she was just finally seeing what was there all along.
The words she'd bit back for fear of rejection now slid past her lips as smoothly as ice would on a hot summer day. The laughter she'd swallowed to avoid questions she couldn't comfortably answer rattled the air. The moves she'd been afraid to make now jilted her body on the dance floor- a roll of the hip, a particularly distinct dip. She didn't worry about who was watching, or what they thought, and found herself the center of so much attention.

She spoke her mind, and wasn't scolded for it.
She loved openly, and wasn't hurt by it.
She lived freely and wasn't ravaged because of it.

This was what the Phoenix felt like as she rose from her own ashes, Gypsy thought, this is what life means.