Kari’s Story


There was once a girl named Kari.

Kari felt bad about herself.

She felt bad because her parents didn’t smile at her anymore.

Now, she tries to make a smile stay, just one, for the day. She makes a mistake, and she loses all the smiles she had, and the will to try for another day.

She felt bad because her friends didn’t like her anymore.

She tried to make her friends stay, just one, maybe two, for a day. She makes a mistake, and she loses her friends, and her smile, for the day.

Kari tried to cry, but her tears didn’t bring any smiles.

They only made her pillow wet and cold.

But one day, while comforting her heart, she found a small black key. She put the key in her bedroom door, and opened it into a new place.

A place of night, of living shadows darker than night. A place full of empty, towering buildings and dead lights.

Kari felt cold, and she felt a little scared.

She met a girl there. A pale girl that looked like her, with glowing yellow eyes and no shadow.

The girl said she’d been waiting for Kari, and smiled at her.

For the first time in a long time, Kari felt happy.

Then the girl said, in a soft, wispy voice, that she knew why Kari felt bad about herself. She also knew how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

She whispered the magic words into Kari’s ear, and told her to use them in her heart whenever she felt bad about herself.

Then Kari stepped back into her bedroom, and began to use the words in her heart.

She used them when her parent didn’t smile at her, when she needed them to.

She used them when her friends wouldn’t smile at her, when she wanted them to.

She also visited the dark place, and every time she visited, she didn’t feel as cold any more.

Kari also began seeing the girl in mirrors and glass. She was always smiling, even though Kari never smiled back. Not anymore.

She thought the girl was smiling for her.

Little by little, Kari stopped feeling bad about herself, and her pillow stayed nice and dry, for every time she knew she would feel bad, she whispered the magic words.

I don’t care.

One day, while Kari slept in her bed, she felt a cold wind pass, even when the windows were closed. She opened her eyes, and saw the little girl from the dark place, standing next to her bed.

The girl was smiling, like she always was.

She said she was very glad Kari used the magic words. She also said Kari only needed to give her something to make sure that Kari would never feel bad again.

She asked if Kari would give it to her.

Kari didn’t want to feel bad ever again, so she said yes.

The little girl smiled, showing all her white teeth, and walked away.

The next day, Kari woke up.

She didn’t feel happy.

But she didn’t feel bad.

She felt nothing.

She wondered why, and decided to visit the dark place again.

The little girl was there, looking at a small, bright red glow. Kari wondered what it was, and asked.

The girl whispered that it was a hurt little thing, and that its owner didn’t want it any more. She looked at Kari, and said thank you.

Then Kari noticed that the girl had a shadow now, and that she didn’t look so pale anymore.

Who are you? Kari asked.

Don’t you know? The girl replied, and she smiled.

Her smile made Kari’s skin prickle.

I’m you.

When Kari went back to her bedroom, she still felt nothing.

But she remembered the magic words, so she said them, in her heart, to feel better.

Then she realized what was wrong.

Now, Kari knew, she’d never feel anything.

Ever again.