Something about her

- 2 -

"Okay, inspire me." 

"How about this? Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets." 

"Okay, but uh.. How will that inspire me?" Camila sighed, "Patience! I bet you're upset because one of your friends, who you've known for I'm guessing, around 13 years, has cancelled some very important plans last minute. Am I right?" Lauren nodded and smiled. "And I bet this isn't the first time they've done it, is it? But you've forgiven them, because that's what you do. You treat people the way that you're used to because you want them to treat you the same. So I think you shouldn't let this 'Mani' get to you, because life's too short to get upset over one tiny thing"

"I.. I simply don't have any words to respond to that." She laughed, "How.. H- what?" Camila smirked and took a sip of her coffee, "I've been through a lot, I'm just talking from experience." 

"So, you just forgive anybody who has ever done anything bad to you? What about if they did something like, super bad that you couldn't bring it in yourself to forgive them?" Camila sighed, "You see, all the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. I was popular when I was in middle school. Then I was diagnosed with insomnia. That basically destroyed me. I shut everybody out and when I got to high school I got bullied." 

Lauren gasped.

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." Lauren smiled across the coffee table at Camilas's words and the green-eyed couldn't help but notice how familiar the story sounded. 

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin- real life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first. For example, some unfinished business or a debt to be paid. And then life would begin. And at last it finally dawned on me that these obstacles were basically my life. And then I realised that I was alone to face these obstacles." Lauren frowned, "Alone?"

"My parents died in a car crash 6 years ago. Drunk driver." She gulped, "I've had nobody to help me through.. But there are worse things than being alone, it often takes a long time to realize this, and then once you realise, it's all too late, and there is nothing worse than being too late. This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.. And that's how I feel everyday of my life."

"So, you.. I dont- I don't understand. You're basically saying that everything's too late. Are you just gonna be.. Miserable for the rest of your life?" Camila was relieved that Lauren didn't start being all sympathetic on her after she mentioned her parents dying. 

"As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery.. I've learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacle to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment and fear, or if you're me; insomnia. While love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness." 

"I.."

"Put it this way.." Camila sighed "Now I've started appreciating the little things in life which gives me happiness and inner-peace. It sounds simple yet its so powerful in a sense that it got me thinking that anger is the cause of so much unhappiness. Because of this I have become a calmer, more compassionate person and this has made me genuinely happy. The happiest I've ever been in a long time actually. Its a strong feeling I have, so I want to make other people feel it, I guess." 

 "Wow" Lauren let out a breath, "That was.. Wow" she smiled. 

"This story sounds oddly familiar" She paused for a moment before speaking up again. "The friend, who was on the phone.. We were supposed to be going rock climbing.."