siobhan and Mia.

siobhan was a little girl who lived in a happy family.
she was neither rich nor poor; neither tall nor short.
Siobhan was happy because of the family and friends around her who loved her.

one day, siobhan met mia.
Mia was a poor, fatherless child.
Mia had nothing; siobhan had everything
so siobhan said:
i will share everything i have with you.
and mia smiled.

so siobhan brought mia home.

siobhan shared her favourite doll with mia.
She did not like the feeling of having to share, but mia's beautiful smile made it worthwhile.
siobhan shared her room with mia.
She did not like the way Mia sometimes treated the room and her things, but Mia's wonderful laughter made it worthwhile.

siobhan's parents loved Mia.
Siobhan's friends loved Mia.
Because she was so pretty.
Because she was so interesting and funny.
because Mia always knew what to say.

Slowly, siobhan realised, things started to slip away from her hand...
the friends who used to surround her started to gather around Mia...
Dinnertime was full of the echoes of her parent's and Mia's laughter...

siobhan started to feel sad.
she felt loneliness and jealousy eating at her...
but she would not give in; she did not hate Mia that way...
Mia was pretty; Mia was fun; Mia was...

One day, Siobhan decided to pack her bags.
It was sunrise.
she gently pulled the window blinds and let the morning sun peep through into her room.
She gently nudged Mia and waited for her to turn around and face her.

Siobhan said:
i once said that i will shared everything i have with you.
Now that you have my everything,
i have decided that it is time for me to leave;
to leave my everything, and you.

Siobhan turned around and left.
She felt sure there was something that belonged to her only, that nobody would be able to take away from her.
she felt sure there had to be someone who loved her second to none, only for who she was, and no one else.

One day, while sitting on a bridge watching the sunset,
Siobhan bent her head and saw a smile.
it was her reflection smiling back at her in the water.

at that very moment,
Siobhan knew that that smile would be that something that nobody would be able to take away from her.