The Same

The world is a small, small place.

Alice walked down the busy sidewalk. Snowflakes fell slowly from the sky, landing on the things that were below them. It was 14 degrees and gradually getting colder. The shivering woman started to get tired from walking so fast, so she gladly let her eyes search for a warm, covered bench that she would be able to rest upon. Her silver eyes gleamed happily when a perfectly empty bench came into view. Her speed picked up and she slumped into the crease of the cold, but covered seat. A smile creped along her face as she closed her eyes and hung her head back.

Honestly, Alice truly hated the large, bright city lights and the annoying street noises and the obnoxious people that consumed the crowded streets. Despite this, Alice managed to live happily in a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, Jack Sider, and her ten-year-old son, Alex. But sometimes it was too much for her to handle, and like every other person, she let her anger out on the people that were close to her. She learned the very useful ability of being able to block out all of the noises and to just, simply, close her eyes and pretend she was elsewhere. Somewhere you can actually see the stars at night. Somewhere the birds can chirp and you can listen to them without the noises of cars going by. Somewhere the animals can run freely in the grass with the warm sunshine chasing them. Silly, right? A thirty-five-year-old woman shouldn't be doing this childish sport, but it's a habit to her, so she can't really help it. And whenever people ask why she does it, she always replies saying, "I learned this trick when I was young and it helps me calm down and think about my next move."

"It was a night like this, right? The night I was saved." Alice said, thinking back in her memories. "Ah, well that was the past, this is the future. I should be worrying about what to eat for supper tonight. Jack left on a business trip to review the stock sales for the company and he won't be back until Monday next week. Alex is sleeping over at his friends house and he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I should just eat out; it would save me a lot of time." Said Alice as she sighed.

As Alice got up, thinking about where she should go to eat out, a small heap of what seemed to be scraps of a leftover human caught the corner of her eye. The thing on the ground was shaking so violently that anyone who walked by would think it was a mini massaging chair and ignore it, and Alice might have too if it wasn't for her keen interest in things she didn't know about. It took Alice a few moments to sadly realize it was a little girl, and when she did, Alice had to choke back a few tears.

Alice, letting the curiosity inside of her take over, got closer to gather information on the appearance of the stranded girl. She studied the girl for a few minutes and concluded that the girl was about ten-years-old--the same age as her son, Alex-- and even after carefully examining the curled up girl, it was still hard for Alice to tell what hair color she had. Each time Alice changed her position the color changed from brown to black to dark brown to light brown to dark blonde. It didn't help that there was such a little amount of hair showing

because of the protective blanket that was snaked around the body that unbelievably belonged to a young girl.

Alice bent down, putting her warm gloved hand on the little girl's shoulder. Even through the glove, Alice could feel the cold emitting off of the body. In response the girl moaned and curled up into an even tighter ball, if it was even possible. A frown appeared on Alice's face, she couldn't help but feel bad, so she bundled the little scraps of skin in her arms and began to walk in the direction of her apartment.
"I wonder if this is a way for me to start over?" Alice breathed heavily and looked up at sky.

 

The instant Alice got home, she hurriedly put the broken, unconscious girl in the warm bath, ignoring the fact that she was dead tired. The only thing running through Alice's mind was nursing the damaged jewel back into full health.

After hours of scrubbing, brushing, and washing, Alice finally finished making the little girl look like, well, like a little girl, who turned out to have red hair and dark green eyes. 

The girl jumped on Alice's sofa, truly amazed at how a surface could look hard but when it had weight put on it, it turned out to be a soft marshmallow. The now beautiful girl stopped jumping on Alice's sofa and sat still wearing fluffy pink pajamas that Alice had bought while the heater struggled to warm up the house but thankfully managed.

Alice ran to the kitchen and brought back some steaming chicken stew with her.

After both girls had their fill, their first real conversation broke out.
"Now, I don't really like calling you 'little girl' all the time, so would you mind telling me your name?"

The girl hesitated, wondering if she could really trust the woman. ". . . Maria . . ."

"And how old are you, Maria?"

"Ten."

Maria smiled.

"And Maria, what were you doing on the side of the street, all alone? It was snowing and you had to be cold," Alice said, shivering when she remembered the feeling she got when she put her hand on Maria's shoulder earlier.

". . . My family. . . they. . . threw me out. Only because they didn't approve of my natural hair color," Maria grabbed her scarlet hair. "Everyone in my family either has black or brown hair. They believe people with red hair are evil," Maria trembled and fought back tears. "I remember them saying last fall that if my hair color didn't change they would throw me out the next winter. B-But I didn't think about it seriously. . ." she added.

Alice didn't say anything, just bowed her head. Not being able to hold back, Maria became enraged.

"So you're just going to sit there! Saying nothing! At least you don't have red hair! At least you get to live in this apartment when I'm out there struggling on the streets!" Maria pointed towards the front door.

Still, Alice said nothing, just closed her eyes and breathed in and out, in and out.

Maria continued. "How can you even have the nerve to sit there with your happy life and your happy family looking at me! When you know that I'm a nobody with no family or friends. What do you know about me and the way that I have to live," Maria couldn't hold her tears in any longer, letting streams run down her face.

After a few moments of listening to Maria sob, Alice finally spoke. "Nothing. I know nothing about you or how you live but our feelings aren't much different."

"Liar," Maria shrieked.

"No. I'm right. I had to grow up in your same position. And yes, you're right about me not knowing anything about you or how you live, but the same goes for you too. But if I'm certain about anything, it would be that the ways we feel are similar."

After Alice said this the room became extremely silent. Maria soon sat back down and tightly shut her eyes, almost as if she had convinced herself that if she held her eyes shut long enough she would disappear into thin air. Except the air was too thick for her to escape through so her efforts would prove to be pointless in the end. Soon after closing her eyes, Maria opened them and let her last tear roll down her face. Maria raised her soft gaze so her eyes were level with Alice's calm gaze. Maria didn't need to think about what she was going to say in respond to Alice. The words “I'm sorry,” came swiftly out of Maria's mouth as she got up off the couch again and walked over to where Alice was sitting.

Before Alice could respond Maria hugged her tightly and repeated “I'm sorry,” In Alice's ear. “I know I shouldn't be the one to say this.” Maria sniffled.

This caught Alice by surprise. A ten-year-old was comforting her, even though both of them knew it should be the other way around. Alice smiled and put her right hand on Maria's head, steadily patting her. “It's fine.” Alice said.

A sigh of relief came out of Maria's mouth. Alice got up and held onto Maria's hand. “Now, how 'bout we talk some more about you. I'd like to have something in mind when I'm looking for things in the store tomorrow. Like your favorite colors, or favorite animals. So when I buy you clothes and toys, I have a slight idea on if you would like them or not.”

Maria gasped. “Really?” She exclaimed eagerly.

Alice laughed at the sight of Maria becoming so excited and nodded. A fat smile grew on the young girl's face and refused to disappear. “But right now you need to sleep. You must be very tired.” Alice said, noticing the tired look in Maria's eyes.

Alice went to her own room to get her night-dress on. When she returned she carried Maria to her guest bedroom and tucked her into the bed. Alice then kissed her sleepy girl on the forehead and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Maria exclaimed. “Um. . . can you sleep with me tonight?”

Alice chuckled. “Of course. I was actually just going to ask if you wanted me to.”

Alice slowly got into the small bed and snuggled close to Maria. As soon as someone can say “Bedtime” both Alice and Maria had fell into a deep slumber in each others arms.    

 

Author's Note

Ignore any punctuation and grammar problems. I plan on getting an editor this week. This is kind of based on a dream I had. I added all of the details, obviously, and the girl. And I changed the ending. I woke up halfway through my dream so it was necessary. I hate it when people wake me up in the middle of a good dream. :( I hope you enjoyed it! ^^

Reviews

[Silent Wolf]

I have read this before, I just couldn't remember it. I don't know why I didn't post a review, though. But this is really good, though the ending could have a bit more to it.

[MayoCat]

Yes. That's what I thought, so I'm going to add more to the ending.

[Silent Wolf]

Alright. Notify me when you have more.

[MayoCat]

Mk. I will ^-^

[Silent Wolf]

^-^ yay. Lol.

[MayoCat]

I added to it ^-^

[Silent Wolf]

Awwww how cute. :)

[MayoCat]

^-^ Thanks.

[Silent Wolf]

Welxie. Lol.

[MayoCat]

No problie :p

[LunarSong]

I love the way you ended it :) I hate it when people wake me up during a great dream too, but I've decided I remember them better so... I love her way of trying to get by in the city, I somewhat know the feeling. Good job ;)

[MayoCat]

Thanks :) I actually didn't write this until three days after I had my dream, so when I was trying to remember the dream, it was hazy and I feared that the story would be bad. I usually don't remember my dreams so when I wake up and they're still clear in my mind, I make them into stories. I just recently got an editor so I'll probably put the edited edition up later in the week. Anyways, I'm glad at least one person liked it ^^

[LunarSong]

It's annoying when you had a vivid dream but can't remember it. You're welcome.