"The world is full of love for mothers; a child without a mother is like a blade of grass." In the little girl's mind, a mother was the most beautiful and gentle fantasy. Unfortunately, she was the grass.
In elementary school, she once had an assignment about parents. The little girl wrote about her older brother, saying he had been both father and mother to her, raising her from infancy through thick and thin. The teacher made her read it aloud to the whole class as a prime example of an essay that had gone completely off topic. Her classmates were so intrigued that they all wanted to see what kind of prince-like brother had raised her on his own.
In middle school, the little girl received her first love letter. Unfortunately, before she could even read it, it was handed to the teacher. She had to make a public apology in front of the whole class, only to discover that the sender liked her because he had no mother either and felt they were in the same boat.
In high school, she was inexplicably lumped in with the children from broken homes and treated as a troubled student. The school counselor kept pulling her aside for one-on-one sessions. Even the other troubled kids thought she was just as unloved as they were. The little girl was furious. She had brothers, in every strange shape, size, and color. Her family was peaceful and warm, okay?
Her older brother: "What do you mean, strange shapes, sizes, and colors?"
The little girl: "..."
At that moment, silence spoke louder than words.
And off she went.
