• "Jamie, if you could pick one moment in your life to relive, which would it be." Alicia asked.

    I let my mind travel back to as far as I could, blurring by each memory until, to my surprise, I stopped at one memory. It was an insignificant day really, a typical day where I just went through the motions where nothing was really important. But there was a small time frame in that long day that impacted my life with a force so strong, it might just be the reason I am who I am today.

    I glanced over at Alicia and saw her big bulgy hazel eyes analyzing me. I rolled over onto my back and stared at my ceiling letting the memory play some more in my head before I could form it into words.

    "I was twelve," I began to explain, "I was at the park, alone. My mom was at work and my dad...I don't really remember. I had a book in my hand, I can't really remember the title either, but it was a good book I tell ya, man...I read so many books but that book, that book stuck to me like glue. When I finished it the first time, I reread it, and reread it again, and then reread my favorite parts. I carried that book everywhere with me for a good month. I'd normally read it whenever I sat down, but...I didn't that day. I just sat there with the book on my lap and I stared at the kids playing. It was a beautiful sight, Lish, I've never seen such a serene sight when everything was so chaotic. Moms were busy gossiping, kids were fighting for the swings, boys were playing hoop, girls were playing with each other's hair...and I was at the bench, alone. It wasn't anything unusual really, I was always alone. But I liked it, it gave me a chance to be real analytic about everything around me, helped me appreciate things more. I was minding my own business by minding other people's actions. Then, I saw this girl...she was like 3 or something. The cutest thing ever, she had real rosy chubby cheeks and eyes so big they could swallow you up. and she was so...so tiny!

    She looked so happy too...but she was alone. Completely content with being by herself, playing with the sticks and dirt." A smile crept on my face, "It was because of her that I learned that I'm okay too. It's not that I ever let being alone get to me, but sometimes I felt unwanted, but seeing her happy with herself, even if she's just an ignorant toddler...it made me feel good...I'd relive that moment over and over again...it left such a pure blissfulness over me."