"You're gonna make it, you know?" The brown haired girl reaches out to tap the younger one's head, smiling.
Tears well up in the younger girl's eyes. She's heard this all before. Inspirational speeches are becoming less. She gets it. She knows. But this stranger's words make all the difference.
"Maybe not like the 'everybody knows my name' or the 'I'm filthy rich' kind of make it. You're gonna help people. Maybe not everyone- not everyone wants to be helped."
"Why-whyy wouldn't p-people want to be helped?" The little girl rubs at her eyes, trying desperately not to embarrass herself with the tears.
"Some people think they deserve it. Some think that if they don't cry and hold on, they'll lose it forever."
"L-lose w-w-whatt?"
"Memories. We want to keep them. Keep them forever. Don't you?"
The small girl nods her head vigorously in reply.
"Sometimes, no matter how good they are, you have to let them go."
"But I don't-!" She moves her hands from her face and folds her arms across her chest. This stranger acts like she knows everything, because she's older. Even though she - the little one - is not as old, she knows a lot! She's experiencing life as it is! She can see and hear today! She knows lots and lots and lots!
"Shh..." the older girl sits down, holding out a hand for the other girl. She reluctantly takes it. "You need to get rid of old memories to make room for better ones."
"B-but I don't w-want to! I want to know everything!"
"You don't get to."
"But I'M GONNA!"
"You can try to, but you can't. It doesn't work like that. You don't get everything that you want."
The little girl wipes her eyes with her free hand again. "But I WANT IT!" The voice raises pitch.
"No, you won't. Trust me. You don't want less when better is in your face."
"B-but!"
"Shh. Life gets better. A lot better. Slowly, you'll learn so much. You won't have friends."
Ha. As if she had friends in the first place. Or, excuse me, has friends. She's had friends before, yeah. But it never feels like she has friends, anymore. They like to leave, though. 'Cause she's clingy. And she's not cool. People don't like her. She's not good enough. She'll never be good enough for people. She's alone. Why?
"I mean," the older girl continues. "You will have friends. For a little bit. But then you'll meet people who mean the world to you. And they're nice. And they're funny. And they're lovable. Really lovable. You'll love them. It'll take a while to get there, but no worries. You will. You'll realize that you have family and acquaintances."
"B-But I d-don't wanna wait! I wanna get there NOW!"
"You really don't." The older girl reaches over and hugs the younger one. "You can't rush there. If you do, you won't appreciate what it took to get there."
"BUT I DON'T-!"
"Everyday. Everyday, okay? Everyday is a new day to love who you are a little more. A day where you're a little more happy. A day that you'll make another mistake that you'll learn from."
The little girl reaches over to hug the stranger back. "I don't wanna wait." She whispers.
"Don't do that. Don't wait for tomorrow. Soon enough you'll be ten. Twelve. Twenty. By tomorrow, you'll be married and have kids. By tomorrow, you'll be dead. You'll have wasted your life on silly waiting."
A new rush of tears. Death... death is scary. She doesn't want to die. She'd rather live forever. "What if I live forever?"
"Don't live forever. Forever wouldn't be fun."
"FOREVER WOULD BE VERY FUN! I COULD LIVE FOREVER AND EVER AND SEE NEW STUFF AND IT WOULD BE NICE AND COOL AND FUN! I COULD! I COULD! I COULD!"
The stranger helps the young girl sit down next to her.
"But everyone else world leave. Everyone else moves on. You'd be stuck there, in the past. Don't be stuck in the past. Especially in this age, where everyone else is going and going and going and technology is going and going and going. It wouldn't be fun to get left behind."
"But people don't like me..."
"You're wrong. I've been wrong. People love you so much. But you're shy. You're lonely. You get clingy. If you reached out to more people instead of focusing so much on a small amount of people, you'd have so many friends. If you stopped looking for people. If you stopped looking in the mirror and criticizing every detail. Like... weight. Don't hate it. Embrace it. You're not fat. You're perfect, honey."
"No! No! No!"
"But... you don't love yourself. If you'd love yourself. Embraced who you are. You'd give the 'popular, cool people' a run for their money. Speak. Speak a little louder. Don't hide-."
"I don't hide-!" The little girl begins to settle down, albeit still defiant.
"Maybe that's why it happens. You lose confidence. You lose pride. You grow self-conscious. You hide. Don't hide. People want to hear you. You're not annoying; you're lovely. Beautiful. People love you."
"O-okay..."
"You're gonna make it some day. Trust me. Not the 'everybody knows my name' or the 'I'm filthy rich' kind of make it. You're gonna make music. Make art. Change the world. You might not make it before you're fourteen, or fifteen, or sixteen. But you know what?"
"Hmm?"
"You are gonna make it. And you're gonna be happy."
