Tiny Imperfect Fiction 06
Beth knew she could count on one thing only in her life: Change. It was literally always somewhere near. Lurking. An irritating, always-uninvited guest and annoying third wheel with a grating, too-loud voice, making suggestions no one wanted to hear. Change didn’t get invited to most birthday parties or included in Beth’s future plans, but somehow almost always managed to show up.
Beth and Change didn’t get along- Beth was rather bitchy and narcissistic with Change, whining to Change, “Whhhhyyyyy can’t you leave me alone for just once? Whhhhyyyyy do you always have to show up right when everything is going perfectly well without you? Whhhhyyyyy do you never go a vacation? Don't you have Any. Other. Freaking. Friends. to hang out with???”
Change always had the same response, in a way-to-chipper tone, “I want to be your friend! A true blue friend to the end! I want to you to LIKE me!”
Beth would sigh exasperatedly, sometimes frustrated to tears by Change's clinginess that seemed to ruin absolutely everything.
Then last Sunday, when Beth was rather exhausted, predictably disappointed, and unusually quiet, she realized Change had literally always been there, had never left her side, no matter how awful Beth had been to it. Everyone else had failed to show up at one time or another, and every single aspect of Beth's life had disappointed her somehow at some point. But Change was immovable, reliable, a constant. Beth thought, “I wish I had a friend like that.” And then she saw something. Beth decided to stop resisting Change’s friendship, to see how that would be.
The day Beth realized her potential error of judgment, she apologized to Change and said, “I’d like to be your friend now. Will you forgive me?” Change replied, “Of course, always.”
Beth and Change became inseparable best friends, and a miracle happened: something stopped decaying inside Beth. She grew. Her heart got bigger and juicier, her mind stretched, her soul evolved, her eyes widened, her senses touched impossible distances. She felt bigger and stronger, despite a heaviness dropping from her bones. She walked lighter through her days and literally shined more light. And she was happy.