A Mountain Fairy Tale ~ Chapter 3

Fairy tales are often truer to life than we wish them to be.  This little girl grew up feeling unnoticed and unloved.  Distance shows that it was not done because of ill will, but rather an unknowing.  Yet the feeling of not being valued led to the thinking it was acceptable to let leprechauns and helpers treat the little girl in ways that were not kind.

There was such a desire for love that even hurtful attention was tolerated.  Sometimes that type of attention had consequences that damaged the little girl’s heart.  Each time her heart was broken a little bit more it became easier to let someone else break it too.

It was in many ways like sliding down a snowy mountain on a sled.  In the beginning it is hard to move, but once in motion the speed picks up until the sled is out of control.  So it was with the little girl who came to believe she was worth less than other little girls.

Each time the little girl reached out for help stopping the sled what seemed an anchor would become a noose.  It became easier to turn inward and stop dreaming and quit reaching for help.  The hope inside became like a flame covered by a basket, it dimmed and tried to go out.

Each time the flame began to be rekindled a person that seemed safe acted in ways that made the little girl feel not so safe.   There came a point the little girl knew she had to not be unsafe any more. 

It was a hard thing to do and many who said they were friends turned away.  Some of those who had been called friends even made up stories that were not true or blamed the little girl for things they had done or said. 

It was in this time that the little girl met a teacher.  A teacher who loved her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.  A teacher who took that basket hiding the little girl’s candle and threw it away to never be seen again. 

That teacher sent people into the little girl’s life who began believing in her words and actions.  These people knew how to tell the truth and listened to the little girl.  They helped her to keep telling the truth even when others did not believe. 

It was a time in which the little girl tried to be brave, but often got so scared she began to believe the lies again.  Each time that would happen the teacher would visit her.  In those visits the teacher would remind her that she was indeed beloved and worthy.  The teacher would let her be sad and cry, yet continued to challenge her to be brave.

Sometimes being brave meant nothing more than taking a deep breath and starting over again.