Little Wonders ((Shansel))

Chapter 12 》 Day Four

Ansel. . .

I get up way before dawn and come fave to face with the roof of out blue tent. We decided to camp out for a night today. I feel a slight weight on my chest. I look down to see Shai, curled up. I sigh. I shift slightly out from my position,tryibg not to wake her up. I manage out of the tent and to the car to get my duffel then enter one of the small blue cubicals, the camping site "bathrooms".

Shailene. . .

I shiver slightly as I wake, patting around me for Ansel. I open my eyes sleepily and realize he isn't there. I get up and and crawl out of the tent. Ansel gets out of the cubical, in new clothes, ready.

"Morning." I smile.

"Morning." He chirps.

"I'm heading in." I say as I get my bag from the tent and enter a cubical.

.

I help pack in the tent. I set our stuff in the boot of the car and slam the back door shut. Its still dark out, and slightly chilly too. I get into the passanger seat just as Ansel is getting into the driver's.

As Ansel starts the car, I pull a shawl from the back seat and drape it over myself. Tired, I stare out the window as the car starts, on side of the road is lit by streetlights, the left side. The right side is a wide lake bordered with a fence. I take time to notice the universe and my surrounding.

I notice a little figure in the darkness, as I come closer, the streetlight shining towards it, I realize its a girl, she's tall, but not as tall as me. I notice she has hair much like mine and jeans and a black blouse on. Its strange, right now its only me and Ansel out here, I wonder what a girl would be doing at this time out here... alone? Suddenly, it hit me, her motives became clear to me. She had one leg over the fence already and was shifting her weight to get the other leg over.

"STOP!" I screech.

The car immediatly lurches forward and I get out opening the door as quick as I can and getting out and running to her as auick as my bare feet can carry me, she seems to have made up her mind and his now lurching forward, if she lets go, she'll fall into the lake, and it will not be an accident.

Her left hand is loosening from the fence. Ansel dashes at lightning speed from behind me and grabs her waist just as she lets both hands go. He flungs her over his shoulder just as I reach.

All of us look at each other, stunned and breathless.

"What were you thinking?" We demand together, our voices at different pitches.

"Who are you?" The girl asks.

"Shailene." I awkwardly say, although I am still breathing heavily.

"W-Why did you-?" Ansel asks, his lips wobbling. I know Ansel, he doesn't get it. I would never think of ending my life, but I get it. I know what's going through the girl's mind. I've been born into a family of phycologists. "Why did you ever think of ending your own life? It won't make anything better, it won't. Why didn't you just fix your problems?" He demands. The girl starts to back away from him.

I walk up to Ansel and place my hands on both sides of his shoulders. "Sh. You're scaring her." I turn to the girl. "I know its hard for you, now, but you have so much more in store for you. Do you need someone to talk to? I can help. Would you like to come for breakfast with me?" I wait for a response, patiently, trying to be like my mom.

Timidly, she nods. I smile and lead her to our car. She straps herself in the back and Ansel and I in the front. Ansel looks distraught, so I drive. I turn up the music which is playing classical music.

-

We reach a small café, we sit ourselves down. I order three cups of tea.

"I want to know your story." I say to the girl.

"O-Okay. My name's Sapphire. I'm thirteen, even though I look older. I come from here, I live near Mount Kau Kau."

I nod. "I'm Shailene, as you know, and this is Ansel." I gesture to Ansel. "Ansel comes from New York, and I come from California. We're filmstars. He's like a brother to me."

"Hi." Sapphire says a little uncertainly. "I don't actually know how to act around important people like you both."

"Oh, we're not important." I laugh. "We're just like you."

I look from Ansel who looks at her with concern and then at Sapphire who wears a shy but heavy smile. The dark circles underneath her eyes are visible. She's a head or two shorter than me and she has quite a curvy figure, but she's pretty.

"Why on earth would any girl at thirteen be thinking about suicide?" Ansel asks.

"I don't know." Sapphire shrugs. "I guess I'm not just enough, I'm too much or too little."

There's a pause.

"You're always enough if you be you." I say then take a sip of my tea.

"That's the problem, being me is not enough, I should better be nothing."

"Ask yourself." I say. "Are you enough, who cares what anyone else thinks? Who cares what the world thinks? Its how you see yourself, do you like you?"

She hesitates. "I do like me, but I don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Well my body isn't right."

"Of course its right, its yours. Its unique, its different. Imagine if the world was full of me, that would be awful, that would be boring. If everyone wore size two, there wouldn't be humans, because humans are created unique, different. So you are right, because you are you."

I can see her eyes water and I hope that my words got to her. "Thank you, Shailene."

"No problem." I say and smile. "Go now and live. Make things right, be you and forgive those who hurt you. Remember: You are enough, you are worth it."

"I'll try."

"I'll do it." I correct.

"I'll do it." She says.

I put my hand in the middle of the table and she puts hers on top of mine and so does Ansel.

"We're a team." I say. "If you need me, email."

In the car, I write down my email for her and drop her at her house.

As I drive around the mountain, into the town and into the city, I feel a warm, happy feeling burning inside me.