Her smile is a secret. It’s hers. It doesn’t matter if no one else knows who she is. She knows who she is. It doesn’t matter if no one will follow her down the rabbit hole. She will follow herself. This is its own reward. This is its own happiness. She already knows this at 7 years old, already knows to be guided through the world by the compass of her own making, knows how to keep her own good company. Joy is her faith, play her prayer, curiosity her medicine. She never doubts even the most doubtful of circumstances. There is a way through, she’s thinking, and I’m going to find it. And she puts her hands together and gets to work.

Maya Stein1 Comment