This is going to hurt, okay?

Childhood. A soft caress of your warm blanket, a sweet touch of innonence and clean hands. She was a pretty girl skipping in her backyard while the smell of homemade cake wafted by the opened kitchen doors. The vanilla and chocolate scent swung in the air like someone created magical waves using a magical wand. Same like in the girl's favorite disney movies. "Get in here sweety, it's windy out there" The girl stopped skipping and answered back to her mother, "In a minute mom! I think its finally gonna rain!" She looked at the sky shielding her eyes from the wind just as a rain drop landed on her nose. She smiled and sat down in the grass, placing her skipping rope beside her.

"It's going to be a heavy one" She turned and looked at the women standing just a few away behind her, her arms folded around her chest. The young girl cheered up as she loved talking to strangers. "Yeah. i love when it rains" The women smiled and asked the young girl if she can join her. The girl eagerly said yes, excited to have a company. As the women sat down beside the young girl, the girl realized she must be new in town because she hadn't seen her before. "Are you visiting this town?" "I think" "Cool".

The girl felt a weird subtle comfort in her company. So she fell into the comfortable silence which she wasn't used to at all. She was sometimes the quiter one and sometimes the most talkative when it came to trying to know someone. The other woman sat peacefully, her eyes closed and head and arms layed back. "Do you think i am beautiful?" The young girl hadn't realized she was staring at the woman when she spoke. That's when she really looked at the woman beside her for the first time. She had short hair with few light brown strands. Her eyes were big just like hers and she had a curvy figure. When the girl took too long to answer the women opened her eyes and pulled a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, that's when the girl saw the multiple piercings she had done in her ear that she thought were so cool.

"Forget it. What's your favorite hobby?" The girl didn't had a hobby yet. She actually loved to do everything. Reading, Writing, Skipping, Painting and she was just learning to bake with her mom too. She told the woman all this. The woman smiled and as the raindrops begin to ponder the backyard, her smile faded hearing the young girl's next question "Don't you think it's stupid to have that many hobbies?" The woman lean forward and gently placed her hand over the girl sitting next to her. "Don't you think it's stupid to have only one thing that makes you happy?" The girl's eyes twinkled with comfort. It was exactly what she needed to hear. She nodded and smiled and they both turned to look at the road ahead at the sudden sound. There was an old man trying to walk with his crate of apples through the slippery road. The girl was about to get up but the woman was more quick and went across the backyard to help the old man carry his crate at the end of the street. When she came back and sat back down the girl looked up at her and asked "Why you did that. The road was slippery. You could have fallen too" The woman frowned while squuezing her shirt to remove extra water. "If I hadn't helped, I might have fallen harder" The girl stilled. The woman sat back down beside her and stared at the sky while rain drops spattered across her face. The girl was still in shock and now was looking at the woman beside her like she was a ghost. 'This can't be it' The girl thought. "That's whattt ii said tto my friends whenn i heelped theee beggar weeks ago" The young girl stuttered. The woman closed her eyes and smiled. After a few beats of silence she replied, her voice low, eyes still closed, "I know" The clouds thundered so hard the girl instinctively grabbed the woman's arm. The woman jerked her eyes open and looked from her arm to the girl's hand on it. "It'll be okay." The girl closed the distance between them and placed her head on the woman's shoulder squeezing her arm. "What if it doesn't?" "I will forever be with you either ways" The woman squeezed back her hand. The little girl smiled "I know" "But i am not here to console you. I am here to tell you life is not only about helping others. Sometimes you need to help yourself too when the world gets against you" "Is the future terrifying?" The woman laughed. The girl lifted her head and looked at her frowning. "This is going to hurt okay? Both the world and helping yourself. But when you can't do it, rip it off like a band-aid" The girl smiled and tightened her hold on the older version of herself. "Will telling you now that you are beautifull will be selfish?" the woman laughed "Haha let's save that adult talking for the next time. For now, let's dance in the rain!" The young girl squealed and jumped with the older version of herself while they enjoyed their favorite thing.

After a while, out of breath the girl asked the woman, "Will you be there with me always?" The woman stopped spinning and smiled at the younger version of herself. "Pinky Promise"