The girl had been the happiest girl you could imagine. She had a loving family, and her own style. Everyday she woke up with a purpose, dreaming of the future and all the possibilities. Nothing ever went wrong, and even if anything did, it was easy to shake off. Smiles, friends, and a million possibilities.
And then, a stab, right to the gut.
Very quickly, the girl lost her grasp on the happiness. She spent most of her time alone in the dark alley of her mind, only able to focus on their hateful words, and each memory brought another rip inside of her.
She would sit in her alley alone, afraid to say anything to anyone who happened to pass by, or to call out for help, and the number of wounds just continued to grow. Each stab in the back or foul comment made would bleed and sting, never seeming to heal, impossible to ignore.
The girl wanted so badly for the horrible pain to end, and numerous times she thought about forcing an end upon the pain, an end to everything. It seemed like the only way she would be able to escape the alley once and for all.
The girl never even realized that she wasn't alone. That hiding deeper in the alley were others, all unfortunately ignorant of each other. Everyone kept to their own shadow, hiding, afraid to say anything or call out. They all feared anyone finding out about their alley or the shadows, so they all continued on, completely unaware.
Finally, the girl dared to step out of her shadow. She saw the end of the alley and went towards it, passing countless others. Some of the ones she passed were so far gone, too overtaken by the demons of their minds, and some were already dead, sitting in the red pools of their depressing lives.
The girl reached the end of the tunnel and paused, but only for a second, before stepping out into the light, out of the alley. She began to remember what the light was like, and how it felt to believe in the future. She hurried away around the corner, not wanting to look back on the dark alley she had escaped from, although she would pause and look back every now and then.
She finished growing up in the light, but never would she forget the dark and lonely years she had spent in the darkness of the alley, or the deep stab teenage years had brought.
