Learning not Crying
It was a shiny summer day with butterflies in the air, the scent of donuts tickling my nose, and the sounds of children’s laughter filling my ear. Holding my mother’s warm hands I closed my eyes and started to walk. Like a dancer, dancing on the stage with everyone watching, I walked beside my mother with my eyes shut. Everything made me feel as if I was the protagonist in my own little world.
Then just in a moment, as my mother came to a stop, I heard the sounds of bells echo through my ears, to my head, and to my eyes. Whispering to me as softly as a songbird, the bells then politely asked me to open my eyes.
“Welcome to the best toy shop at the carnival!” I heard as the door closed behind me and as the bells waved goodbye.
“Hello.” My mother replied.
“Celine, why don’t you pick out a toy you like.” My mother spoke, as I was mesmerized by the size of the shop with all my favorite toys around me.
Gripping my mother’s hand tighter, overwhelmed by the amount of people who were in the store, I replied with a soft whisper:
“Okay mother.”
Then suddenly I noticed on the side of the store, a giant balloon shaped like my favorite mythical creature, a unicorn.
“Mother? Can I have that unicorn please?” I said as I looked up towards my mother with a smile on my face.
“Of course, you can. But make sure you don't let go of it. It might fly away” my mother replied.
“Yes mother, I promise I will never let it fly away” I replied.
As my mother reached for her wallet inside her bag, the owner of the store asked me:
“Darling, do you need a strap on your wrist for the balloon?”
“No, it's okay,” I replied abruptly, hiding behind my mother.
“Are you sure? You might lose it” the owner said with a doubtful facial expression.
“Yes! I'm okay” I answered, as I walked out of the store.
Suddenly, “Ahhhhh!” like a roar of a lion about to catch its prey, a young boy yelled, as he bumped into me, knocking me over and leaving only a gust of wind in his path.
“Watch where you're going!” my mother yelled in shock.
“Celine, are you okay?” my mother asked as she patted my back to rub the dust off.
At first, there was pain on my back, legs, and hands. Then there was pain in my heart. A sudden realization that the string that I had been holding onto had disappeared came to me like a wrecking ball breaking through a wall that had never been broken down before. It was a moment of despair, agony, and hopelessness all at once. It was a feeling I had never experienced before.
My tears fell like raindrops, my face was contorted with anger, and my body was crunched up like an armadillo.
“Celine…” My mother spoke with a calming voice.
“Things happen, good or bad, with or without your influence. The most important lesson is to learn from it, not fall into a deep hole of misery from it.”
When I looked towards my mother wiping my tears and saw her smiling at me, I realized, anything can happen but I will always fly above it and become a stronger person.
