She enters the room with light happy steps, hums as she prepares for yet another early night. Of course she has to wake up oh so early tomorrow, she tells herself. She feels a bit lonely but everyone is so nice to her. Maybe too nice…., anyway she decides not to worry. There is so much to do and it’s only been a few weeks since coming to a boarding school. The covers swathe her and they cocoon her with warmth. Suddenly, she is away from the room, the dorm and the school. Just as she is about to take the final step into the land of dreams, the door opens. She can hear voices and loud laughter fills the air. She knows it’s too early to tell them to keep quiet. Just as she is about to mute these noises, she hears them talking about her.
“How is your new roommate? Tell us!” says a voice.
“Yes. Tell us.” echo the other voices.
“She’s sleeping. Shh! She’s all right I guess. She’s just really boring. You know, she doesn’t really seem to have a life”, replies the other in a whisper.
They giggle but they can’t help it. The poor lifeless girl sleeping on the other side is just too funny and soon laughter fills the hollow room. Why does the room suddenly feel stuffy? It’s as if all the air in the room went whooshing out. She can’t sleep now! All her dreams are chased away.
She wants to get up and shout, “I’m awake, you idiots!”
But she can’t. Instead she hides beneath the covers as hot tears seep through her eyes. Their words echo throughout the night. They dance over her head, flitting to and fro as if mocking her very existence. She asks herself questions as if answering a quiz in an issue of seventeen magazine. Is it because of the way she dresses? Is it the way she talks? Maybe it’s that stupid hiking backpack that she decided was practical for a school on top of a hill. Or it’s because she is nervous around new people. The confusion ebbs and instead it is replaced by a wave of anger. How dare they? How very rude to pretend to be nice when she is awake and gossip right before her when they think she’s asleep! But eventually, the anger goes away as well. Suddenly she is filled with a pang of homesickness. She doesn’t want to be here. She doesn’t want to live in such a mean world. If only she could go home…
The sun rises and another new day begins. But, last night is hard to forget. She doesn’t seem to have a life. One phrase, seven words, twenty four characters. They seemed insignificant. But now, she can’t stop repeating them. She thinks about them as she walks up to school. She utters them as she stops to watch the beautiful hills. She puts them at the back of her mind as she laughs at another funny joke her new friend says. ‘Life’. Is life supposed to be about socializing? Is it designer clothes? Is it being busy with loads of friends and lots of activities? If only the stupid girl had explained. She steps out of her room still thinking about ‘Life’.
“Hey, do want to play hide and seek?”
She nods and it turns out to be the start of beautiful new friendships. She gets new roommates and a new room to replace the bitter memories with better ones. Time passes. Almost a year later, she can’t help but think about life and that day that made her a sad mess. She walks up the path alone. She stops to watch the beautiful sunset, staring at the orange globe gently sinking beneath the horizon and thinks how wonderful life is. She picks up a wildflower. She reflects on how mesmerizing it is; a white queen donning a cloak of green. Life is beautiful. She thinks of all the friends she has, fun, caring and so annoying at times. She remembers the pranks, the fights and the funny moments. A small smile tugs her lips.
She thinks back to that dramatic night which forever changed her. It was quite silly really. Life wasn’t clothes or the number of people that surrounded her. It wasn’t something that was measured based on the popularity of the events she was attended. Life was any and everything. Having a life was stopping on the path to school and looking at the majestic hills. Having a life was the smile she had after a quiet evening of reading her favorite book for the hundredth time. It was laughing with her friends. It was sneaking out with them to watch the stars. It was breathing in and out. Life was four characters long and yet infinite in its meanings. As she stands transfixed on the path, she imagines going back to that night; she takes the cover off, stands up and says to those girls, “I have a life and it’s wonderful.”