"That was our only way back" said Anger.
"What do we do now?" said Disgust.
I didn't answer. I just sat on the mountain looking at bad memories.
I saw ones where Maya got an F in chemistry, ruined the set in a school play, and broke Momma's favorite plate.
"Th-that's not..." I stuttered. "Come on, please! What am I missing?"
Chad's angel then floated towards me. "Hello, Joy."
"Chad... what am I gonna do? Why does all this bad stuff have to exist?" I sobbed.
Chad knelt down and held my shoulders. "Joy... I know it's not nice to know... but you can't remove bad things from life."
"You can't?" I said.
"No matter what part of the mind you send them in, even the bad memories are part of Maya" said Chad. "You need the bad memories so you can love the good ones even more."
Anger, Fear and Disgust found us.
"Chad. Hey" said Disgust.
"Hello" said Chad with a soft smile.
"So... what do we do now?" said Disgust.
I looked at them. "I don't know. I don't know how to stop Anxiety. Maybe we can't."
"I s'pose she has something to learn too" said Chad.
"She has a lot to learn" said Anger.
"Maybe this is what happens when you grow up" I said. "You feel less joy."
"Oh there there, Joy" said Chad. "Maya can feel joy if she wants to."
"But how can she if Anxiety is dragging her through life?" I said.
"She can't. That's what she may need help with" said Chad.
"I dunno" I said. "But I do know this. May will never be herself if we don't get this back to Headquarters."
"But how?" said Disgust.
"Chad... you got me and Sadness back before. Can you please float us back up there?" I asked politely.
"Of course. If you do just one thing for me" said Chad.
"Anything" I said with hope.
"Let the bad memories fall into the Belief System" said Chad.
"But how will we keep the bad memories from forming bad beliefs?" said Fear.
"You won't" said Chad. "Knowing what's bad about yourself helps you become a better person. Do you want Maya to be the best person she can possibly be?"
"Of course we do" said Anger.
"Then let her understand her faults" said Chad.
I bravely broke the barrier and all the bad memories flooded into the Belief System with the good ones.
Meanwhile, Anxiety was still trying to get Maya to memorize every play she knows.
But Maya was having a hard time.
"Are we pushing her too hard?" said Anxiety.
"I'm not good enough!" said the new Sense of Self.
"Oh no. What did I do?" Anxiety panicked.
She started frantically pushing buttons on the console.
"Come on, Maya. Get it together" she said. "You have to memorize these things, Maya! Or this will all have been for nothing!"
"Anxiety! You're putting too much pressure on her!" said Envy.
Anxiety wasn't listening. She just kept pushing buttons and moving rapidly until she looked like a big orange tornado.
