One day one girl woke up not sure what to do. But she was embarrassed to ask anyone.
So she went out determined to find the answer by herself. She walked by many strangers, some happy, some sad. She couldn’t bring herself to smile back at those who were happy, nor could she help those who were sad. Not because she didn’t want to, no. She was too afraid.
She stumbled upon a lady. This lady was different. This lady shone a light so impeccable, the girl wanted to talk to her. But yet again, fear stopped her. So she just gazed at the lady who was tall, confident, she could see that the lady was strong. The girl wanted to be more like her. But there was an odd thing about that strong lady. She just stood there. It looked like she was waiting for someone or for something.
The girl almost forgot about the problem she had had. But then the solution was clear. ‘Go ask HER’ said a tiny voice inside her head. ‘What if she is busy’ answered another. ‘Don’t be foolish’ said the first voice, ‘You can see she is just standing, alone.’
‘Yes I see that, but what if she doesn’t want to talk to me?’ asked the second voice with concern. ‘Then you’ll never know’ answered the first one.
The girl waited to see if the lady would go away. But she didn’t. She stood in the same spot as she was when the girl first saw her.
The lady turned over and saw that the girl was looking at her. The girl felt ashamed for invading someone’s privacy. She looked away, but the lady kept looking in her direction. The girl started blushing and wanted to turn away and run, but something made her stay. Even worse, something made her approach the Lady.
‘Excus…’ her voice broke. She cleared her throat with the lady looking straight into her eyes, looked away and tried again. ‘Excuse me, miss’ this time she succeeded.
‘Yes, my dear?’ said the lady.
‘I was wondering… why you were standing there… for so long’ the girl asked with shivering voice.
‘Well, my dear, I was waiting for you’ said the lady smiling.
‘Me?!’ the girl was in shock ‘Why me? I don’t even know you!’
‘Oh, but you do. And I know you. I used to be like you, afraid of what people would say or think, never doing the things I really wanted to do. All I could do was wait for something amazing to happen. But it never did. Because, just like you, I never did anything to provoke something amazing happening to me. And now all I can do is stand here and look at my past, regretting not taking every single moment of my life seriously and not fighting for what I deserved’ explained the lady with sadness in her eyes.
‘But how do you know all that? How do you know so much about me, when you just saw me moments ago?’
‘I already told you. And now there is something else I want to tell you. You are one of a kind. There is no one in this world who is like you. You are unique and you are beautiful. Don’t let your fear stop you. Your virtue is that you care. But you care for others, and not for yourself. It is time you started taking care of yourself. And only by overcoming that fear can you be happy. Nevermind people, they always talk. Give them something worth talking about’ said Patience to Shyness.
‘But I don’t want to be a burden to anyone’ explained Shyness, realizing that Patience was right.
‘If you are, they will tell you. Now run along and have a happy life that I never did. But don’t forget to value others. And once you learn that waiting can be a virtue, but only if perfected to see when it is the moment, you will never again lose any time.’
‘Go, be happy. It is your time to shine now’ said Patience wishing there was someone to tell her those exact words when she was young.
By Jelena Jekić
