Eighteen Wishes

Hugs of Comfort

I came home crying from school once again, the bullies at school just got meaner and meaner every day. While I tried to hide how much it hurt me I couldn't hold it in anymore. I was to the point of breaking. They had already broken the girl I use to be but I don't know how much more bullying I can take before I fully break. I dreaded school because of these mean girls who decided that they needed to break someone down so they felt good. I don't understand why this world is so cruel. I ran from the bus stop to my grandmother's front door where she always waited for me. I ran straight into her open arms and clung to her, the words of my bullies running through my head no matter how hard I tried to get them to flee from my mind.

"How can people be so mean?" I cried quietly into her shoulder as she rubbed circles on my back to help calm me down.

"Well my dear sweet girl, people like to throw rocks at things that shine. They're just scared of the potential your life has." She spoke as we slightly swayed back and forth, "How about we go inside and we can have a snack and talk." she gently suggested. Eagerly nodding I walked outside where I sat down at the table to wait for Grandmother to bring out the snacks and drinks. It only took a couple minutes for grandmother to come out with a tray full of cookies and sweet tea. She sat the tray down on the table then gracefully sat down opposite of me. We sat there quietly, myself letting out soft sniffles as my grandmother held my hand across the table. After taking a couple breaths and calming down we started in on the cookies. As we ate she asked me about my day and asked about these mean people at school to help me let all my emotions out. I felt tears come back and start to prick my eyes as I told about all the harsh words that are spit at me every day. Grandmother quickly handed me a napkin for me to wipe my tears away with and took a long look at me.

"My dear sweet girl, you are as beautiful as a water Lily. Delicate and beautiful throughout its life. While it starts out as a little bud on a Lily Pad, it grows and grows over time until it is fully developed. It is like life, you start out innocent and untouched by this cruel world we live in, but just as it takes time for the flower to bloom and show its true beauty. Right now you are in the time between a bud and becoming the beautiful flower you are meant to be."

After a few hours and a few cookies, I had to go off to dance. I had a solo that spoke to me at this time. The solo was called Pretty Tragedy, it was a story about a girl who had been broken by the world and was starting to embrace the new self that she had become. The drive to dance was fast and calming. I gathered my dance bag out of the back seat of my car and headed inside. Dancing was my escape from the world and myself. I could become someone else as I told the story of the dance. I quickly pulled off my street clothes to unveil my dancewear. I reached inside my bag for my shoes and headed inside the studio room. Putting on my shoes I started my warm-up and stretching while waiting for the instructor to come in. On the last few seconds of my stretching, my instructor came in.

Hello Lily! Are you ready to run your dance?" Felicity asked me with a simple nod she switched on the music and I was ready. As I danced around the room to the song I gave it my all, every leap and every turn were full of power. I used my personal experience to put the emotional pull into the dance. I used my hour solo practice running the dance nonstop and perfecting it. Afterward, I had a couple classes back to back until it was time for me to go home. Class ended and I grabbed my dance bag before heading to my car. As I got in the weight of the bad day had lifted and I felt relief. I pulled into my driveway right as my stomach started to scream for some food. I entered the house and right away ate some dinner, showered, and then flopped onto my bed. It had been an unbelievably long day and I was so ready for sleep. My eyes became heavy as I laid there and before I knew it I was fast asleep.