A Short Story

A young lady named Marsha was very depressed to the extent of becoming suicidal.  She had just buried her last living relative.  She was not a very out going or self assured young lady, so she didn't have any close friends.  Both of her parents were only children, her grand parents preceded both of her parents in death.  She felt like she was all alone in the world and like no one would notice if she just died. 

She decided that after she settled all of her fathers affairs that she was going to commit suicide.  Why not she reasoned.  Everyone who ever loved her was on the other side.   Marsha could think of little else as she conducted her daily task.  One week before the day she would end it all, an old friend recognized her in spite of her dismal demeanor.   Marsha heard the lady calling her name but ignored her assuming the lady could not have been calling her.  After all, there are a lot of Marsha's in the world.

Evelyn finally caught up to Marsha.  She grabbed Marsha's shoulders from behind and spun her around.  Evelyn looked deeply into Marsha's eyes and saw the sea of hurt that was like a torrential storm inside of her.  Marsha knew she was exposed.  She fell to the ground sobbing.  Evelyn sat on the ground beside her and held onto Marsha for dear life while she sobbed too.   Evelyn was crying because she felt like she had been a horrible friend.  How could Marsha not know how much she loved her.  Why didn't Marsha call her and let her know that she was suddenly alone.  They stayed in that spot for hours, crying, talking, laughing.

Evelyn stopped calling Marsha because Marsha was always cool and aloof and never wanted to go out with Evelyn.  In Evelyn's mind her child hood friend didn't like her any more and didn't have the courage to say it.  In Marsha's mind Evelyn was so much fun and full of life that she felt like she was hindering what could become a great life for Evelyn.  Both friends had the best interest of the other at heart and each of them could not have been more wrong.

Evelyn was born fun loving, bubbly and extra plump. More than anything else in the world she wanted to be more like Marsha.  Calm and cool, pretty and shapely, Studious and smart.  She loved Marsha more than any of her other friends in the world because Marsha never seemed to notice how amply sized she was.  Marsha on the other hand wanted more than anything else in the word to have Evelyn's  flair for fashion and her jovial perspective on everything.

That day, the friends made a pact to learn how to communicate honestly and effectively with one another.  They decided that the effort it takes to love truthfully, openly and honestly is worth the self exposure and work it requires.  They both went on to live amazing lives.  The morale of this story is:  It's always safe to assume that the assumptions you're making are wrong.  Get the facts.

In joy,

Andrea