This is the story of a woman named Mariela. She was a beautiful, kind, and smart woman, but there was one thing about her that everyone she knew and everyone who has encountered her noticed. She was very anti-social. Her childhood was a mess. She didn't like to talk or interact with many people. All she wanted to do was paint.
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Mariela was bullied very badly because of this. Her parents tried to persuade her to become homeschooled. "I'm fine, I like it at school. I like it better that way." was her response. School was the thing Mariela loved in her childhood. She didn't have any friends, but she liked the loneliness. All she would do in her spare time was paint and doodle small characters. She was bullied because of this, but Mariela didn't care. She got used to the name calling and insults, and then it got physical. The bullies started lightly by poking her and throwing paper and trash. Which was fine at first, but then the bullies started to steal and snatch or take away her paintings. From that, it hit Mariela hard were it hurt her. She began to stop painting.
After that, Mariela wasn't the same. She didn't like to be by herself anymore, she wanted a friend. This friend she wanted, needed to be like her, but not in the same way. One day she noticed a boy being touched and played with by other boys. They stopped and left, leaving the crime scene. She walked over, looked at him at a good angle to see him better.
He had cuts, bruises, blood on his left knee and right arm, he was curled up into a ball. Right next to him was a blood-covered baseball bat. She started to speak, "Hello?" she said very weakly in a small but high-pitched voice. The boy was startled and looked at her. Mariela got a good shot of his face. His cheek was scarred, a bloody nose, black eye, and a small cut on his bottom lip. "Have you come here to taunt me?" he said, his voice raspy. "No, I was just..," she stuttered, "Looking for a friend. Do you want to be my friend?" she asked. "Sure," he replied.
"The names Stanley." he whispered, "Nice to meet you Stanley, my names Mariela."
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