You and Me

We were best friends. Perhaps even family. Our world was big. It was just a large, pink, wrinkly orb, with nothing inside it. It existed even before we did. When we were born, it was all dark. It took us a while to figure out what exactly we were. Soon, we came up with the perfect name for ourselves: “Thoughts.” Eventually, there would be more of us, but back then, it was just you and me.
We stayed in the inky blackness for a long time. I don’t know exactly how long we were there. For us, time was nothing but an abstract concept. We spent our time talking and making up jokes. Our laughter filled up the eerie loneliness. But one day, we realized we had run out of things to talk about. We sat in silence for a while, your back pressing against mine, as we thought about more conversations.
 However, just as we thought we would become swallowed up by the quiet, a blinding light flashed before our eyes. After we adjusted to the sudden brightness, we found ourselves face to face with a large screen. Attached to the bottom of the screen was a thin wire. The wire was long and coiled on the ground like a snake. On its tip was a metal handle with a ball on it. 
We didn’t know what it was, but we were mesmerized. You picked it up and asked me, “What should we name this?” 
As you spoke, the screen in front of us flashed on. Your question echoed around us in waves of sound. You looked around, surprised. I was too. Your voice had never been so loud. 
You held the ball to me and said, “Answer my question.” 
I spoke into the ball and said, “I think we should call it ‘Microphone.’” 
This time, my voice was the one that boomed. As I said this, we heard a new voice. It was coming from the screen. From it, we could see a baby wrapped in warm blankets. 
I could hear other muffled voices, but the clearest one was the voice of a beautiful lady. “Oh, Safia! My sweet little girl!” 
As she leaned in to kiss Safia’s cheek, I felt the warmth of her lips too. It tickled. In that moment, I was filled with indescribable joy. In my happiness, I shouted into the microphone. “That felt so nice!” 
On the screen, I saw Safia smile and suck her thumb. 
“Are you kidding?” I heard you say next to me. I had been so focused that I didn’t notice you had taken the microphone from my hands. You glared at me and yelled, “That was the grossest thing ever!” 
    On the screen, I saw Safia let go of her thumb and let out an ear-piercing wail. I snatched the microphone from you as Safia’s mother and father struggled to calm her down. 
“Why did you do that?!” I asked. 
You shrugged and said, “That’s just my opinion.” 

Serena Wang is a 5th grader at Open Window School.

I managed to coax Safia into falling asleep, but I was still frustrated.  You apologized later after I ignored you and I forgave you, assuming this would be the only argument we would ever have. It wasn’t though. The biggest argument wouldn’t happen until Safia was twelve years old, but through the years you and I had many arguments. When Safia was five and started kindergarten, we argued about whether she should share her toys with her classmates. I said yes and you said no. When she was ten, we argued about friendship. You said that Safia should be friends with the “popular” girls, but I believed that it was better for her to have caring friends. 

And now that Safia was almost a teenager, new, more complicated thoughts began to appear. They came in all different shapes, sizes and personalities. They built large buildings made of Safia’s dreams. The roads were made of Safia’s emotions. At the start, I did not know what to think of all the changes. The thoughts had taken apart the giant screen and used its parts to make smaller screens to put inside our homes. 

I missed the days where Safia’s mind belonged to just you and me. We controlled what she did and I was the only one who kept her happy. Now, she had other Thoughts to do that for her. But slowly, I began to adjust to my new life. I found that many of the Thoughts were friendly and thoughtful. I first started to realize that when one day, when I was sitting on the sidewalk near our homes, a big group of Thoughts came to me and introduced themselves as Excitement, Trust, Inspiration and Love. They smiled at me and asked if I wanted to join them. I smiled back and shook each of their hands.
 
“Nice to meet you,” I said, “I’m Happy.” 

“That’s a good thing,” Trust said, “It is always good to feel cheerful.”

“No,” I shook my head, “That’s my name.” 

“And what a good name it is!” Inspiration said, “I might have a new idea for one of the names of my cartoon characters! Mind if I use your name?” 

“I don’t mind,” I said. 

Suddenly, I saw you walking down the street towards me. The moment you saw the other Thoughts crowded around me, your expression morphed into a scowl. You shoved your way in between me and the other Thoughts. 

“Hello,” you said, attempting to smile brightly, “It’s very pleasing to meet you, but I am afraid that Happy and I must…um… go to the café! We’re very busy, you see.” 

Then you grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away from my newfound friends. The moment we were out of sight and earshot, I loosened my arm from your grasp and asked, “What was that?!” 

“Hmph! You’re lucky I found you in time. Who needs those other Thoughts when you already have a true friend?”

I was just barely holding on to my patience, but I took a deep breath and said, “I need more than just one friend.” 

If you had said that to me, I would’ve let you choose what was right for you, which was why I couldn’t understand when you screamed at the top of your lungs and told me I was being a rotten friend.

Then, before I could reply, you ran in the direction of the café and didn’t look back. Suddenly, I saw Inspiration, Love, Excitement and Trust running towards me. 

“We heard everything! Are you okay?” asked Love. 

“Two friends argue! This could be the climax of my story!” cried Inspiration. Love elbowed him and gave him a look. Inspiration immediately went silent. 

“No, no… I’m fine,” I said, “Just shocked.”

 Excitement patted my shoulder, “Oh, that must have been frightening. Do you want to come to the library with us?” 

“Sure,” I said, your shouts still echoing in my head. 

“Come on then,” Trust said, gripping my wrist tightly.

As we walked, Trust asked, “Where do you live? Many thoughts have built their own homes now.” 

“I live not far from that sidewalk where you found me!” I said. 

I finished building my home a few months ago. You had built your house right next to mine. We visited each other often. 

“Oh!” Inspiration said, pointing at something in the distance, “That’s the Cerebellum!” 

“What?” I asked.

All I could see was a small path that led through rows of nerves.  

“It’s the path that leads everywhere! It’s really cool!” Inspiration said.

The path was rubbery and bouncy. I slipped and slid as I walked. Brain molecules floated through the air. I followed Trust, Inspiration, Love and Excitement as they made rights and lefts. Finally, we were in front of the library. It was a big building with many windows and a wooden door with a golden knob. When we walked inside, I found myself surrounded by books. There were bean bags of all different textures lined up besides the windows.

“Whenever I need more ideas, I always come here to loosen up and think,” said Inspiration. I nodded as I grabbed a book.
 
The pages recorded all of Safia’s memories, thoughts, ideas, emotions and all her hobbies. Each book had a leather cover with golden words printed on it. The words were tightly packed together and I had to squint to make them out. 

“You can check a book out or even buy one! Checking out a book takes no money at all, but buying one requires you to fill out many forms and pay a certain price depending on the book quality,” Trust explained.

“Where do I check out?” I asked. 

Trust motioned towards a row of machines in the corner. Just as I was about to walk there, I heard the door slam open with a bang. Thoughts from every corner of the library turned as you stomped inside. I heard someone say, “Looks like an angry thought to me.” But I knew you! You weren’t angry… You were a good friend! Holding my book, I felt my insides flip as I balled up my quivering fists. 

“Happy!” you called out, “Are you here?”

“He’s gone mad!” Trust whispered. A crowd began to gather, hearing the commotion, yet they still kept a safe distance. 

“Hm… Interesting. This is an even better climax for my story!” Inspiration mused. Looking around, I realized every Thought wore a look of confusion or curiosity but also fear.

 “I’m here,” I called out, forcing my voice to not squeak or shake.

Slowly, I stepped out of the crowd of Thoughts. You grabbed my arm and tugged me outside. 

“What are you doing now?!” I asked. 

“I thought best friends should always do things together! Instead you’re wandering alone with strangers!” you said. 

“They’re not strangers!” I said, “They’re friends!” 

You stamped your foot on the ground.  “If you want to abandon your friends then that’s fine! Because I’m not your friend anymore!” 

I backed away, hurt. We had been friends for our whole lives and I had thought that I had known you well, but maybe I hadn’t. I thought back to the time when you made Safia cry when she was a baby and even earlier, when you pulled me away from my new friends. I watched as you turned around and trudged off. I didn’t know how much time passed, but for many moments all I could hear was the whispers of Thoughts behind me. Then, a hand patted me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Excitement, Trust, Inspiration and Love behind me. 

“We should go,” Love said.

We walked down the Cerebellum until we reached my house. But your home was gone. All that was left of it was just a pile of bricks and dust. 

“What happened?” I asked disbelievingly.

 A Thought passing by stopped and said, “Well, your friend was walking towards me earlier, seemed real angry and asked me if I could help him take apart his house. Then, he packed up his belongings and when I asked where he was going, he said to a rental home down the Cerebellum near the library.”

Inspiration’s eyes glittered, “Yes! A tragic ending! Perfect for my tale!” 

Love gave my hand a squeeze. 

“I guess… this is the end then,” I said. 

I wanted to cry or even just sit down and bury my face into my hands, but I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I just stood still and took it in. 

“Hey… do you hear that?” Trust asked.

I looked up and put my hand to my ear. I could hear a faint beeping noise. The beeping grew louder and louder.
 
“I know that noise,” Excitement said, “It’s the alarm! Something’s happened to Safia!” 

I ran to my house and opened the door. Inside, there was a small screen with a remote, microphone and earbud. I switched on the screen and could see Safia’s face filled with frustration.

In front of her, I saw her best friend Elaine, a freckled girl with flaming red hair. 

“You’re the worst!” Safia shouted. 

Elaine’s bottom lip trembled. “I didn’t mean to…” she said. 

I clipped my earbud to my ear and said, “This is Happy, reporting an EC.” An EC is an emergency crisis. 

Through my earbud, I heard another Thought say, “Thank you for reporting, Happy. Unfortunately, you are not needed for this crisis.”

“Please allow me to help!” I said. Somehow, seeing Elaine and Safia argue now reminded me of our argument. 

“All right,” the Thought said after a moment, “You’ll be back up. For now, just hang tight. I’ll report if things get worse.” 

I looked back at the screen. Elaine was in tears now. Safia continued to scream. 

A crackle of static sounded in my earbud, before another Thought said, “We have to move this to the PC immediately! Safia is out of control! Go find the Thought who made her like this!” 

PC meant priority crisis. We barely labeled something this status. It was usually just an EC or even an MC, which stood for a minor crisis. 

“This could be the finale of my story…” Inspiration muttered.

“Sadness reporting to Happy,” a Thought said into my earbud, “We found the Thought who has been causing trouble. The other Thoughts are working to calm Safia down right now. This PC operation is under control.” 

“Good,” I said as I turned to the screen. 

Safia’s brows relaxed slowly and she stopped breathing hard. Her fists loosened and she took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry, Elaine,” she said calmly, “I should have known it was an accident.” 

Elaine smiled at Safia, “It’s okay. We all get like that sometimes.” 

“Now would be a good time for a happy thought!” a Thought said into my earbud.

I lifted the mic to my lips and said, “Hey! What if you go and play now? Recess is almost over!” 

“Hey! Want to go play tag?!” Safia asked. 

“Sure!” Elaine beamed and took Safia’s hand and I watched them skip towards the play structures. 

“Crisis averted!” the Thoughts cheered. 

“But what of the trouble maker?” a Thought asked. 

“I don’t know,” I said. “Perhaps we should go see what happened.” 

Everyone agreed. 

“That was incredible!” Love said to me. 

Inspiration snapped his fingers in an excited gesture, “I have the plot for my story now! Thank you, Happy!”

“Of course,” I said, as we left my house. 

The other Thoughts and I walked down the Cerebellum toward the courtroom. The courtroom was a tall building with thick, hard walls and no windows. When we opened the door, I heard a familiar voice. Your voice! 

“I didn’t mean to,” you said. 

I saw the judge put his hand on his chin, as if thinking. 

“You hurt Elaine’s feelings! And even now some Thoughts are still working to undo all the mental damage! The main crisis might be over, but it has left many aftershocks! We will see to your punishment! Does the court agree?” the judge said.

I saw all the Thoughts raise their hands or nod their heads. 

“Wait!” I shouted. 

You and the entire court turned around to look at me. I felt my legs shudder but I held a firm expression. After the crisis, I had learned that we all make mistakes, no matter what. Even after everything that had happened, you were still my friend and I wanted to give you another chance to set things right.

“We all have our pros and cons!” I said, “Give him another chance and I promise you that he will do better in the future! I will work with him to make up for the damage!” 

The judge looked down at the rest of the court. Slowly, they nodded their heads and began to smile. The judge took his gavel and thrusted it down with a ‘wham!’ 

“Then it is official,” he said to you, “The court agrees to pardon you.” 

You bowed to them and then turned around to face me. “Thank you, Happy,” you said, “I’m sorry.” 

“That’s okay,” I said. 

After that, we learned that the Thoughts had succeeded in raising Safia’s spirits and they reported she was now heading to her last class of the day. 

Inspiration took out a pencil. “Now that’s a real ending for a story!” he said. 

As Safia headed home after a long day, the Thoughts had a party. We gathered at the Cerebrum and talked and made jokes until Safia got ready for bed. At night, I had the job of monitoring Safia’s dreams. While I watched her sleep, I thought of what you were doing. Were you also working in your rental home?

I didn’t know how much time passed, but finally, the dream section of my screen snapped shut as an alarm rang in the distance. 

“Safia! Time to get up!” I said cheerily. 

I saw the screen open once more as Safia yawned and stretched. I watched as she put on her school uniform and packed her lunch, and then I headed to the café, where Excitement, Love, Trust and Inspiration were waiting. You were also always there in the morning, so maybe I could introduce you to them.

As I walked, I saw tiny groups of Thoughts whispering to one another. I could make out a few words. “He left?!” “Are you sure?” I tapped one of the Thoughts on the shoulder. 

“What are you talking about?” I asked. 

“Ah… Happy, there you are,” the Thought said, “Your friend told me to give you this.” 

She handed me an envelope. I tore it open and read. Slowly, my expression changed from curiosity into sadness and disappointment. The letter was addressed to me in your loopy handwriting.

“Dear Happy, I have left for the Temporal Lobe. It is very far away from where you are, the Parietal Lobe. I wrote this last night to remind you to not try and look for me. I have gone to learn who I truly am as a Thought and what I am meant to do. Tell the other Thoughts to not worry and that I will be back one day. In the meantime, enjoy your time with your new friends and tell them I look forward to meeting them. Thank you for giving me another chance and I will use it well.”

“Signed, a Thought who hopes to find his name and purpose” 

    I stared at the envelope for a long time. The Thought who had given the letter to me said (after a long awkward silence), “It’s unfortunate, really. I wonder what he will choose to do with his new life and if he will ever even come back. You volunteered to work with him as he brought Safia better mental health, but now, that is not possible anymore!” 

I folded the letter up and put it inside the envelope. 

“Thanks for giving this to me,” I said quickly. 

“Don’t mention it,” said the Thought. 

I gave her a grin and skipped to the cafe, not looking back.

Even now, I do not try to look for you. We send each other letters and I always eagerly await the next one, but I still have my duties as a Thought and I will do my best to make Safia happy.                        
Signed, Happy​