the awakening...

"There were days when she was very happy without knowing why.
She was happy to be alive and breathing,
when her whole being seemed to be one with
the sunlight,
the color,
the odors,
the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day.
She liked then to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places.
She discovered many a sunny, sleepy corner,
fashioned to dream in.
And she found it good to dream and be alone..."

from "The Awakening," by Kate Chopin