MidReal Story
Rebel Dreams: A Tale of Freedom and Resilience
Scenario: The song tells a story of perseverance and determination, with lyrics expressing the longing for freedom and the pursuit of ideals. It conveys a sense of resilience and courage in the face of challenges, with a strong emphasis on the theme of staying true to oneself despite adversity. The emotions conveyed include determination, longing, and a rebellious spirit.
Create my version of this story
I could hear the wind whispering to me as I stood on the edge of change.
My heart was racing, and I felt like I was on the precipice of something life-changing.
The sun was setting, casting a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors and lights in front of me.
If not for the familiar voice beside me, I might have been tempted to take flight.
The wind, she’s singing to us,” Alex said softly.
He looked up at me, his dark eyes shining with excitement and possibility.
I could feel it too.
Our fingers were entwined, and the connection felt like a live current between us.
We were standing on top of the hill that overlooked the town we called home, Havenbrook.
It was a small town, quiet and quaint, with its clusters of houses and main street lined with mom-and-pop stores.
It was the kind of place where everyone knew everything about everyone else’s business.
But there was a darker side to this peaceful town.
Alex and I were just about to finish high school.
Our families wanted us to go to college together, get married, and eventually take over the family businesses they had spent years building up.
My parents owned the local bookstore, while Alex’s dad was a carpenter and his mom was an artist who sold her work in the nearby city.
But we didn’t want that life.
We wanted … more.
The wind whispered in my ear again, and this time, it sounded like it was telling me exactly what I needed to hear for the courage to keep moving forward.
I looked down at Alex, and he gave me a bright smile.
He was my best friend since childhood, my partner in crime, and my rock.
We had always been there for each other when things got tough.
And right now, I needed him more than ever.
I needed to know that he would be by my side when we left everything behind to chase our dreams.
When I saw the determination in his eyes mirrored back in my own, I knew he was feeling the same way I was.
I wanted to tell him that together, we could do anything—that we were invincible.
But the wind had already said it all, and instead, we stood in silence, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon.
As the first stars twinkled in the darkening sky, the wind grew stronger, wrapping around us like a comforting blanket.
Havenbrook lay below us, shrouded in darkness, but the horizon glowed from the last rays of the sun that had dipped below the world for another day.
I knew in that moment that this view would be burned into my memory forever, a reminder of the possibilities of what lay beyond the familiar town that had always been our home.
We didn’t speak for the longest time, and no words were needed because we both knew what the other was thinking.
We were standing on the edge of a decision that would change our lives forever.
I didn’t know what Alex wanted—to stay with me or to stay behind when I left this town—but he wouldn’t say until after I made my choice.
I couldn’t find the words to tell him what I was thinking and feeling, and so instead, I squeezed his hand and turned to look back at Havenbrook one last time.
Or at least, for now.
Tomorrow night, I would be standing here again, but Alex wouldn’t be with me this time because by then, I would have made my choice, and I would be ready to face whatever came next… alone or not, whether he chose to stay with me or not.
I felt like my heart weighed a thousand pounds as we headed back down the hill toward our houses for dinner, but when Alex squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile, some of the weight fell away.
He couldn’t take away all of my doubts and fears—not when they were mine alone to face—but when I looked at him, he made me feel like we could conquer anything together.
The night passed in a blur of sleeplessness and worry and before I knew it, it was time to meet Alex on the hill again.
But this time, there wasn’t a bright sunset to light our way, and I couldn’t help but think that it was an omen for how things would turn out tonight.
Alex stood on the hill, his hands in his pockets as he waited for me to catch up.
He turned around when he heard me coming and gave me a small smile before looking back at the lights of Havenbrook.
I stood beside him and slipped my hand into his as we watched the lights flicker in the distance.
Every step that I took tonight felt like it was pulling me further and further away from who I wanted to be and who I was inside, and every step felt like it was taking me one step closer to being stuck with no choice but to go along with what everyone else thought was best for me.
I thought that leaving for college didn’t seem so bad when Alex and I were planning our escape from this town last night—probably because we didn’t really think we’d ever go through with any of it—but now that the time had come to make my choice, even leaving for school felt like too much for me to handle.
But I couldn’t stay here if my parents were going to continue treating me like a child who couldn’t be trusted or depended on to make my own decisions about what I wanted for my life and my future.
It wasn’t so much that they wanted me to do what they wanted—I knew that their dream for my future was good for most girls—but they didn’t want me to chase after my own dreams if they weren’t theirs too… And that wasn’t good enough for me anymore.
I knew that Alex could see the doubt and worry in my eyes because he let go of my hand and slipped his arm around my shoulders before leaning down and pressing his lips against my forehead.
“Ready for the end of the world?”
I smacked him on the arm for trying to make a joke when I was clearly so upset, but he just chuckled and wrapped me more tightly in his arms before resting his chin on top of my head and looking down at me with those serious blue eyes of his again.
The look on his face almost made me change my mind again as I thought about how much easier my life would be if I just put his needs first—like I always did—and went along with whatever he wanted for our future together.
But that would be taking the easy way out, and I knew that I couldn’t do that this time even though I knew that losing him could be the one thing that would break me enough to make me wish I was anywhere but here.
But I loved him too much to let him hold me back anymore… And after everything that had happened this weekend, I knew that I was done waiting for him to grow up enough to get serious about us or our future together because if he was going to be the guy who made my dreams come true, he would have done something about it by now instead of just sitting around waiting for me to change my mind again and again.
And so I did the only thing I could do as I looked up at him with tears in my eyes before pressing my lips against his one last time: I broke up with him.
I’d been thinking about doing this for a little while now, but I’d never been quite ready to go through with it before.
I’d been thinking about going to college instead of staying in Havenbrook and getting to work on making some of my other dreams come true instead of the ones that my parents had gotten all caught up in over the years… But I knew what they expected of me, and I’d been afraid of disappointing them by not being who they wanted me to be.
But I was done letting them make all of my decisions for me and then being so disappointed in me when I couldn’t make them happy by performing like they wanted me to.
I was done pretending like I thought that everything was going to be okay if I just did what I was told from now on because being who everyone else thought I should be was killing me inside.
And even though I knew that I’d made the right decision for me tonight, I didn’t know if I could go through with it tomorrow night if Alex wasn’t standing beside me and holding me up like he always had as long as I’d known him.
It seemed crazy to think that I might actually want to stay in Havenbrook instead of leaving after all these years of dreaming about getting out of here and never looking back, but the thought of leaving Alex behind—or even just leaving for school without him—was more than I could handle right now.
I knew that we’d grown apart over the years as we’d turned into the people that our parents wanted us to be instead of the ones that we were supposed to be, but we were still best friends at the end of the day… And now—I didn’t know what we were going to be tomorrow or how we were ever going to make it through this together if we weren’t both willing to fight for each other anymore.
“I love you,” he told me as we stared into each other’s eyes in silence for what felt like forever, “no matter what.”
And then he buried his face in my hair and held me tightly as I let go of all the tears that I’d been holding back.
I knew that he loved me, but I also knew that he didn’t really understand why it wasn’t enough for me anymore.
He’d tried to convince me more than once that it would be better if we stayed here and went along with what everyone else thought was best, but he never said anything that made me believe that he wanted me as much as I needed him.
And so I did what I had to do as I wiped my tears away before leaning up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips against his one last time.
“I love you too,” I told him before I kissed his cheek and stepped out of his arms before turning around and walking away without looking back.
But before I walked away, he called out to me one last time.
“We’ll figure this out… Together.”
The first thing that I noticed when we climbed down from his roof was how quickly the cold air hit us as we stepped down onto the porch.
It was already cold outside, but it had been even colder on his roof where we’d been hiding from the wind, and it took my breath away as we stepped off of it… And then all of a sudden, the cold didn’t matter anymore as I looked over at him—tall, dark, and handsome with his new haircut—and felt a shiver run down my spine.
He looked so different with his short hair… He looked almost grown up… And sexy.
I couldn’t help but smile at him as we stood there in silence, my heart pounding in my chest as he reached out to brush a lock of hair behind my ear before sliding his hand down to rest it on my shoulder.
“Are you ready?”
he asked me after a moment, but this time his voice was barely above a whisper.
But when I met his eyes and saw that familiar look of determination staring back at me, it was all he needed to say.
We’d done this dance so many times over the years—sneaking around behind our parents’ backs so that they didn’t have to know about all of the things we did that they wouldn’t approve of—and we always knew how it was going to end before it ever began.
We liked to think that we were being rebellious, but in all honesty, we only ever went exactly as far as we knew we could get away with… Which made us more predictable than we probably should have been when we were trying to hide things from them that we knew would never be allowed if they ever found out about it.
“It’s about time,” I joked as we both started to laugh, “I was starting to think that you might never get your haircut.”
“I know,” he said as he reached back to run his hand through his short hair again, “but I finally did it… And I’m glad that you like it.”
“I do like it,” I told him as he reached out to wrap an arm around my waist before pulling me closer to him again, “I just hope that it doesn’t make you too cocky… You were already bad enough before.”
“Me… Cocky?”
he asked as he raised an eyebrow at me before smirking, “You’re the one who’s always had a thing for bad boys.”
I’d always heard that opposites attract, but when it came to us, we were more alike than anyone could ever have imagined… And that was probably why everyone else was so surprised when they found out that he was only my best friend and not something more.
We’d met on our first day of kindergarten, and we’d been inseparable ever since… And now it was hard to believe that after all these years, we were about to go our separate ways.
I didn’t know how it was going to happen or what it was going to take in order to make it work, but we didn’t have a choice anymore… It was time to grow up, and we couldn’t do that together if we weren’t willing to help each other get there.
“I know that you’re just going to keep giving me a hard time anyway,” he told me as he squeezed me tighter, “but maybe you’ll finally change your mind after you get to see me with it like this.”
As much as I wanted to say that it would never happen, I knew that he was right… Because no matter what he looked like or how different he seemed, he was still him, and he was still mine… And even if he didn’t look like Alex anymore, he would always feel like him, and he would always be mine… But as much as we both wanted to pretend otherwise, we both knew that some things were bound to change… And one day, maybe one of us would end up changing our mind too.
We walked in silence for a few minutes after that, neither one of us able to bring ourselves to say what we were thinking, but even though we didn’t talk about it, it was still there… And with every step that we took and every second that passed, it just kept getting heavier and heavier.
“I don’t know how you’re going to do it,” he said quietly after a while, “but you know that I’ll support you no matter what.”
“I know,” I told him with a nod, “And you know that I’ll always do the same for you too.”
He didn’t say anything after that, but he didn’t have to… Because after all these years, we both knew exactly what the other was thinking, and nothing that we said or did was ever going to change that.
It was still early, but it was already starting to get cold outside, and even though it wasn’t that far from his house, I knew that he was freezing as he walked me home.
I would have offered him my jacket if he’d needed it, but he’d made sure that he was wearing something warm enough that he wouldn’t, and now there was no way for me to give him what he’d hoped for without making it obvious that I knew what he was doing.
It didn’t matter though, because that was just who he was, and now it was starting to feel like desperation too.
It wasn’t that far from his house, but it was still a long way from mine, and the closer that we got to my house, the more anxious that I started to feel as the realization that this was really happening started to hit me.
I didn’t want to leave him, but there was nothing else that I could do either, and even though we both knew that this was just the beginning of the end for us, it wasn’t making it any easier for either one of us to let go of the other one either.
“I guess that I’ll see you later then,” he said as he finally stopped in front of my house.
“Yeah,” I said as I tried not to look back at him again, “I guess so.”
He tried to smile as he took a step closer to me again, but the look on my face must have given me away because he suddenly changed his mind before reaching out to pull me into his arms one last time instead.
“Yeah,” he said after a moment as he shook his head in agreement.
“I guess that you’re right about that too,” he said as he took a step back again to look me in the eye one last time.
“But at least now we know that we won’t have to go through it alone though… Because we’ll always have each other to help us through.”
“Yeah,” he said with a nod as he reached out to take my hand again.
“And no matter what happens, we’ll always be best friends too.”
“Yeah,” he said as a smile suddenly appeared on his face again.
“And when we’re old enough to start drinking…”
“You can buy me a beer because you already know…”
“That my dad’s gonna make me work for him if I don’t…”
“And then you can drive me home after too,” I laughed as I finally gave up on trying not to smile at him anymore.
As much as we both wanted to believe that things wouldn’t change between us, we both knew that they would.
We were getting older now, and even though we both wished that it wasn’t true, we both knew that it was.
It was only a matter of time before everything changed between us… And now it felt like that time was starting to come too.
“I guess that we’ll see you at Christmas then,” my mom said when she answered the door after Alex knocked on it to wait for me to get inside.
“I know,” she told him as she waved him goodbye too.
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” he told her as he pulled open the screen door and stepped outside into the cold again.
“And tell Emma to do the same thing for me.”
“I will,” she told him with a nod before she closed the door and locked it again.
Alex was always so annoyingly optimistic whenever things got tough like this, but even though it was starting to piss me off now, it was also starting to make me feel better too.
I could see that he was trying to make me feel better, but I also knew that he was just as scared as I was too.
I wanted to believe him when he said that we’d always have each other no matter what happened next, but it was starting to feel like everything that we’d ever shared was nothing more than a lie too.
He’d already told me that he was planning on going away for a while once he’d turned eighteen so that he could see more of the world before he had to come back and work for his dad.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work for his dad too, but he also knew that it was only a matter of time before his dad was going to expect him to start doing things his way instead of his own.
And even though I didn’t know what I was going to do now either, I did know one thing for sure…
I couldn’t bear the thought of having my mom or dad tell me what I had to do with my life too.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod as he took my hand in his again.
“I’ve been thinking about that new haircut that you want me to get,” he told me with a grin on his face.
“Is it still something that you want me to do?”
“I’m sure that it won’t be as bad as you think,” I told him with a shrug.
“And it’ll be better for your skin too.”
“Yeah,” he said with a snort as he rolled his eyes at me again.
“But I’ll still have to shave it all off first.”
“Not if you don’t want to,” I told him with a shrug while I looked down at our feet as they hit the pavement while we were walking home.
“But I still think that it’ll look better without all that hair in the way.”
“Yeah,” he said with another nod before he looked down at our hands and gave mine another gentle squeeze before he let go of it entirely when he saw that I still wasn’t looking up at him.
“I know,” he said with a sigh.
“But it’s not just about getting that new haircut anymore either.”
“I know,” he said with a nod before he finally managed to get me to look up at him too.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said about Sarah Lee too.”
“You have?”
I asked with a frown.
I couldn’t help but think about how many times I’d heard about her from my own parents, but it was only now that it was starting to make me wonder if everything that they’d told me about her was true too.
My mom had always said that Sarah Lee was nothing more than a rebellious troublemaker who’d only ever gotten herself into more trouble because she’d never done what other people had told her to do, but Alex’s mom had told him something different too.
She’d said that Sarah Lee was nothing more than an adventurous soul who’d only ever gone after what she’d always wanted instead.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod before he looked down at our feet again too.
“Isn’t that what you want right now too?”
“I mean, we could always try and find her,” he said with a shrug before he looked back up at me again with a grin on his face.
“I’m sure that it won’t be as hard as we think.”
“What?”
I asked with a frown as he took my hand in his again and started walking again.
“Do you really think that we need someone like Sarah Lee in our lives right now?”
I asked with a shake of my head while we were walking home again too.
“What would we need her for?”
I asked with a frown when he didn’t say anything back to me again either.
“That’s the dumbest thing that you’ve ever said!”
I know,” he said with another nod before he stopped in front of me and looked down at our feet again too.
“But maybe it’s not…”
I know that I shouldn’t have believed him then and there when he said that, but for some reason I couldn’t help but do it anyway.
Maybe it was because I’d always trusted Alex, or maybe it was because I’d always wanted to believe that I could do something like this too, I don’t know.
All I know is that I found myself standing there and looking down at our feet without thinking about it anymore than I should have been doing too, and as I did I could hear the voice of reason inside my head telling me not to listen to him and to just walk away right now, but then I thought about how much the voice of reason was wrong too and started wondering why I’d been listening to it for all of these years anyway as well…
I know that it was stupid to be thinking things like that, but I couldn’t help but do it anyway as I stood there and looked down at our feet without even realizing what he was talking about either.
I mean, finding Sarah Lee would be amazing, but going out there and trying to find her would be impossible!
I knew that too, but before I knew it I found myself looking up at Alex again and asking, “How are we going to find her though?”
“She’s a rebel,” he said with a grin as he looked down at our feet again and shrugged his shoulders as well.
“And we’re going to go out there and do whatever we can to find her.”
“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said!”
I said with a shake of my head before I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes on his face too before saying, “But if she can help us then why not…”
When he heard me say those words to him he looked at me and smiled before he took my hands in his own and said, “So you’ll come with me?”
“What?”
I asked with a frown before I shook my head and said, “Alex, are you crazy?!
This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever told me to do…”
“But Emma,” he said before he looked down at our feet again and shook his head too.
“Isn’t this what you want?”
“Yes,” I said with another nod before I looked up at his face and found myself nodding along with his own too without even realizing what I was doing anymore as well.
“Then come with me!”
I don’t know what it was that made me do it then and there, but before I knew it I found myself nodding along with his own too while I said to him, “Always together.”
When he heard me say those words to him he looked at me and smiled again too before he nodded along with my own too while we were standing there.
“Always together,” he said to me again too before he took my hands in his again too.
Once we’d said that to each other we stood there for a few moments like that until the sun started to rise in the sky again too.
It was the longest time that we’d ever stood like that, but even though we’d been best friends for as long as we could remember we knew that things were going to be different from now on too.
I knew that it was going to be hard for both of us to go out into the world like that, but we also knew that it was going to be worth it too.
We were going to be on our way to finding Sarah Lee together in the end. And no matter what happened from here on out…
The time was coming close now for us to make our decision and go out into the world.
I could feel the weight of it all pressing down on us as we stood there side by side like that too.
For so long now we’d been thinking about whether or not we should go out into the world or just stay home like our parents wanted us to do too.
But now that we were actually standing on the cusp of going out into the world I could feel everything starting to close in around us once again too.
It wasn’t just the fear of leaving our old lives behind that was pressing down on us, but the thought of becoming something new too.
We weren’t just going to be changing our lives but ourselves as well when we went out into the world like that.
It was something that we’d been talking about for years now, but it had always felt like something that was so far away from us that it might never happen at all.
But now that it was actually happening I could feel myself starting to hesitate too.
I knew that Alex felt the exact same way that I did as well, but still, I didn’t know if that was going to be enough for us to stop us from making that decision.
I didn’t want it to hold us back, but still, it was hard for me not to let that fear take over.
I knew that Alex felt the exact same way that I did as well, but then again I’d always known that he would feel that way.
It was something that had always held us back before, but even though I knew that there was a chance of it holding us back now I didn’t want it to happen like that.
I knew that I had to have faith in him and myself as well because if there was anything that I’d learned from Alex before it was that I could do anything if I just put my mind to it.
I’d always known that he’d had faith in me before, and now that we were standing on the edge of what might be one of the biggest decisions of our lives I knew that I had to have faith in him as well.
I could see the weight of it all starting to press down on him too now as he looked up at me with those bright brown eyes of his.
I could see all of his doubts clearly written on his face too, but then again I knew that he could say the same thing about me as well.
We weren’t just doubting ourselves, but each other as well.
We were both scared of what might happen next, but even though we were both scared of what might happen next we knew that there was nothing else that we could do either.
It wasn’t just the two of us standing there either because Sarah Lee was standing there right beside us too.
She wasn’t saying anything, but she didn’t have to say anything either because she was telling us everything that she needed to without saying a word either.
It was almost like she could see all of our fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams clearly written on our faces and she could see everything that she needed to know without saying anything at all.
It was almost as if she knew that even though we didn’t want to show it, we were both confident in what we wanted to do next, but at the same time, we were both scared too.
I think that she knew that what we wanted to do next was going to change our lives forever, but then again I think that she also knew that this was just as big a step into the unknown as it would have been for anyone else too.
She could see what this meant to us, but at the same time, she knew that she couldn’t make this decision on our behalf either.
She had to let us do this, but she also had to make sure that she was there to guide us as well because in making this decision, she knew that she had to make sure that she was there to guide us too.
She knew that this was going to be a hard step for us to take, but she had faith in us too because she knew that all of this time, this was something that we’d wanted to do as well.
This was no longer just a dream to me as well, but now it felt like a reality as well.
It felt like a reality to Alex too, but still, it also felt like a dream as well.
It felt like a dream that we were both scared of waking up from, but at the same time, it wasn’t just a dream anymore either.
It was a reality that would soon become something so much more than just a dream as well.
It was something that would soon become so much more than just a dream, but now it would become something that would change our lives forever as well.
As all of those thoughts raced through my mind, my heart started to race as well, but even though my heart was racing, there was nothing that I could do but keep looking forward.
It wasn’t just me who had all of those thoughts running through my mind, but it wasn’t just Alex either because Sarah Lee had all of those thoughts running through her mind as well.
Like me, she’d always known that this was what we’d wanted to do all along, but even though she’d always known that this was what we’d wanted to do all along, she’d never known if this was what we’d actually end up doing or not as well.
Like me, she only hoped that we wouldn’t chicken out instead.
Like Alex and I, she could see that we were both scared of what might happen next.
I didn’t know if she had anything more that she could say to us either because right now there was only one thing that we could do.
The only thing that we could do right now was to keep moving forward.
There wasn’t any other choice that we could make either.
It wasn’t just the three of us who had all of those doubts running through our minds either.
It wasn’t just the three of us who had all of those thoughts running through our minds either.
It wasn’t just the three of us who were scared either.
The three of us were the only ones who knew about all of those things, but then again I also knew that the three of us were the only ones who would ever know about them either.
Just like Alex and I, Sarah Lee knew that the only thing that we could do right now was keep moving forward.
And that’s exactly what we did.
We moved forward with nothing but the moonlight guiding our way.
As we walked along the narrow path that led through the trees and towards the secluded meadow that lay beyond them, there wasn’t anything that any of us could say to each other.
There wasn’t anything that any of us could say to each other either because there wasn’t anything left that needed saying.
We’d already said everything that needed saying anyway.
Right now there wasn’t anything left that needed saying or doing anyway.
We’d done everything that needed doing anyway.
Right now there wasn’t anything left that needed doing so there wasn’t anything left that needed saying either.
The three of us knew exactly what needed doing anyway so there wasn’t anything left that needed saying either.
It might have taken us a while to figure out how to go about it but in the end we’d figured it out.
We’d figured out how to go about it anyway so it didn’t really matter anymore.
It didn’t really matter how long it had taken us either because we were both here now anyway.
It might have taken us a while to get here, but we were finally here anyway.
We were finally here so we might as well just get on with it already.
That’s exactly what we did as well.
As soon as we arrived at the secluded meadow that lay beyond them, there wasn’t anything else that we needed to talk about anymore.
There wasn’t anything left that needed saying or doing anymore either.
The only thing that we could do right now was get on with it already.
So that’s exactly what we did too.
With nothing else left that needed doing or saying, we stripped off all of our clothes until there wasn’t anything left hiding away any part of us anymore.
With nothing else left hiding away any part of me anymore, I hesitated for a moment before I stripped off my bra as well.
I hesitated for a moment before I stripped off my bra as well, but then I closed my eyes and took it off too.
I closed my eyes and I took off my bra too but even though I closed my eyes and I took off my bra too, I couldn’t help but look over at Alex anyway.
Even though I couldn’t help but look at Alex anyway, I made sure to keep my eyes away from his crotch.
I made sure to keep my eyes away from his crotch but even though I made sure to keep my eyes away from his crotch, there wasn’t anything else that I could do either.
There wasn’t anything else that I could do so I just kept looking at him anyway.
The only thing left for me to do was look at him anyway so I just kept looking at him anyway.
Right now there wasn’t anything else for any of us to do so we just kept looking at each other.
For a while it felt like all we were doing was standing around waiting for something to happen.
It felt like all we were standing around waiting for something to happen but then again I also knew that all we were really waiting for was for something to happen as well.
All we were really waiting for was for something to happen so we just stood there waiting for it to happen as well.
We stood there waiting for something to happen until eventually I opened my eyes again.
As soon as I opened my eyes again I saw that Sarah Lee was walking away from me in one direction while Alex was walking away in another direction.
I saw them both walking away in different directions but even though they were walking away in different directions I couldn’t help but follow after them anyway.
I couldn’t help but follow after them anyway either because it felt like they were calling out to me.
It felt like they were calling out to me but even though it felt like they were calling out to me, there wasn’t anything else that they could do either.
There wasn’t anything else for them to do so they just kept going regardless.
They just kept going and going until eventually they disappeared out of sight.
They disappeared out of sight but even though they disappeared out of sight it didn’t take too long before the two of them came back around again as well.
It didn’t take too long before the two of them came back around again either so it was only a matter of time before they came back around again.
It was only a matter of time before they came back around again but even though they came back around again it wasn’t like they really had anything else important to say either.
It wasn’t like they really had anything else important to say but even though they didn’t have anything important to say there was still plenty more important stuff happening anyway.
There was still plenty more important stuff happening as well but even though there was still plenty more important stuff happening, it almost felt like all there was left for any of us to do was stand around waiting for something to happen instead.
It almost felt like all there was left for any of us to do was stand around waiting for something to happen instead but then again at the same time I also knew that there wasn’t anything left at all that we needed to be saying or doing either.
I also knew that there wasn’t anything left that needed saying or doing but we still had to wait around for a while longer regardless because it was clear that none of us were ready yet either.
None of us were ready yet but even though none of us were ready yet it also felt like there wasn’t much time left before we were going to be getting on with it anyway.
It also felt like there wasn’t much time left before we were going to be getting on with it but even though it felt like we weren’t ready yet either, it also felt like there was no way around it either.
There was no way around it, and there was no way out of it either.
We weren’t ready yet, but it didn’t matter anyway.
We weren’t ready yet, but there was no way to get out of it either.
There was no way to get out of it, so we were just going to have to deal with it anyway.
As soon as I became aware of it, I felt a surge of vulnerability wash over me as well.
I felt a surge of vulnerability wash over me, and I knew right away that Alex was feeling the same way too.
I felt a surge of vulnerability wash over me, and I knew right away he was feeling the same way too, and in the end there was only one thing left for us to do anyway.
And in the end there was only one thing left for us to do, so the two of us moved closer to each other as fast as we could.
The two of us moved closer to each other, and then we grasped each other’s hands as powerfully as we were able to too.
“Remember what I said I’d always be here for you no matter what?”
“Yeah,” he replied.“I remember what you said.”
“I want you to think about that right now,” I told him.
“I want you to understand what it is I mean when I say it too.”
“I want you to understand what it is I mean when I say it,” I told him next.
“I feel the same way,” he told me, “but you’re not supposed to be the one taking care of me, Emma.
What about your mom and dad?
What about my mom and dad?
What are they going to think?”
“They’re going to think whatever they’re going to think,” I replied, “and there’s nothing you or me can do about it anyway.”
“What if they don’t let us go?”
he asked me next.
“What if they won’t allow it?”
he asked me, his voice rising with panic.
“What if we can’t go?”
“No one can tell us,” Sarah Lee replied then.
“No one can tell us what we can or cannot do.”
“No one can tell us,” she replied again.
“What if this is all a huge mistake?”
he asked me next.
he asked me again.
“What if this is all a massive disaster waiting to happen?”
“It’s not going to be easy,” she replied as well.
“It’s not going to be easy by any means.
I’m not going to lie to you about that either.”
“This isn’t going to be easy,” she told us next.
“But then again, I also know you two aren’t afraid of working hard either.”
“I’m sure you two aren’t afraid of working hard either,” she continued.
“And I also know you’re both going to rise to the challenge as well.”
“I also know you’re both going to rise to the challenge anyway,” she said next.
“Which is why I’m not worried about this working out for you in the long run either.”
“None of us are going to have an easy ride,” she went on then.
“None of us are going to get out of this without having worked for it either.”
“None of us are going to have an easy ride,” she repeated.
“None of us are going to get out of this without having worked for it too,” she said.
“Life is like a river,” she said then.
“Life is a lot like a river,” she said next.
“If it didn’t flow, it would die,” she said.
“If it didn’t flow, it would die,” she said again.
“If it didn’t flow, it wouldn’t be a river either,” she added after a moment.
“But if all it did was flow all of the time,” she went on then, “it would never change anything at all either.”
“But if all it did was flow all of the time,” she continued, “it would never change anything at all either.”
“If none of us ever swam against the current,” she added after a moment.
“If none of us ever swam against the current,” she repeated too.
“Then we’d never learn anything,” she continued as well.
“And we’d never grow up either.”
“I want you two to understand one thing above all else too,” she said next, looking directly at Alex and me as she spoke.
“I want you two to realize one thing above all else,” she said again.
“I want you both to know what it is I mean when I tell you that you’re not alone either.”
“No one ever gets out of this without having doubts” she went on then.
“No one ever figures this out without being scared shitless,” she said as well.
“We all have feelings of guilt,” she added after a moment, “and we all wonder what it would have been like if we’d done things differently.”
“But in order for us to become who we were supposed to be,” she went on, “we had to become someone else first.”
“In order for us to become who we were meant to be,” she said next, “we had no choice but to leave our old selves behind.”
“We had no choice,” she repeated as well, “but to leave our old lives behind too.”
“And we had no choice,” she added after a moment, “but to leave our families behind as well.”
“But in order for us to change,” she went on then, “we also had no other choice.”
“There was no other way,” she said next, “for us to get out of there without disappearing either.”
“For there was no other way,” she added after a moment, “for us to move on without leaving with no trace at all.”
“There was no other choice,” she repeated as well, “but for us to disappear without a single word of explanation too.”
“But I don’t want that for you.”
“I don’t want that for either of you at all,” she said next.
“I don’t want that for any of us,” she repeated too.
“There’s no way,” she added after a moment, “we can move on until we’ve killed our old selves in front of everyone else too.”
“But I don’t expect any of you,” she went on, “to understand what it means until you’ve done it yourself.”
“But I don’t expect any of you,” she repeated as well, “to get it until you’ve transformed yourself too.”
Sarah Lee went silent then, allowing her words to sink in for a moment while Alex and I exchanged glances with one another again.
Although I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought about her speech myself, I could see that he seemed just as unsure about it too.
As such, I found myself wondering whether he’d be more inclined than me not just to follow my own advice but also ignore what she was saying herself.
There was little doubt in my mind he’d probably be more like that once we’d left too.
“You need me,” she told us then, breaking the silence by repeating the same words as before.
“You need me,” she said again after a moment, “and I need you two as well.”
“Which is why I propose we go and see your families first,” she proposed next.
“I propose that you two go back and see your families one last time,” she rephrased it after a moment.
“One last time,” she repeated then, “before you leave for good.”
One last time,” she added as well, “before you leave this place behind forever.”
“It’s only fair,” she told us then, “that you two get a chance to say goodbye first.”
“It’s only right,” she added after a moment, “that you get the chance not just to say goodbye but also take everything you want from them as well.”
“But it’s only right that you do it in front of my own eyes,” she continued then.
“But it’s only fair that you both do it in front of me as well.”
“It’s the least you can do for me,” she said next.
“It’s the least you can do for me,” she repeated after a moment, “for everything I’m going to do for you guys.”
And so that was how Alex and I ended up in Sarah Lee’s training studio when we did too.
That was how we found ourselves standing in front of her mirror next, wearing nothing but our underwear while she instructed us on how best to stand as well.
That was how we found ourselves being told by her next, after standing still for a couple minutes, to turn around so that she could see us from every angle as well.
It was only when Alex and I had done that though, when we’d turned around and stood still in front of her for another couple minutes, that Sarah Lee told us something else entirely as well.
“Take it off,” she said next.
“Take it all off for me,” she repeated after a moment as well.
“Take it all off, all of it, so I can see what I’m working with.”
“But take it off quick,” she said next, “so that I don’t have to spend any more time looking at you like this.”
“So take it off quick so that I don’t have to look at you like this anymore.”
“Take it off because it’s only fair,” she said as well, “that I get to see all of you too.”
“And anyone else who was going to do what I’m going to do would ask for the same thing anyway.”
And so Alex and I did what we were told by her then.
We took our underwear off and ended up standing naked in front of her, facing away from one another while waiting to see what would happen next.
That was when Sarah Lee took our clothes, folded them up, and placed them on top of her desk, before returning to stand behind us again.
“Turn back around,” she told us then.
“Turn around for me,” she repeated after a moment.
And when Alex and I had done that, when we’d turned around to face her as well, that was when she stepped up to us and planted herself down right in front of us too.
“There’s only one thing left to do now,” Sarah Lee said next as well.
“There’s only one more thing for us left to do now.”
“And that’s for me,” she went on, “to give you both the look that everyone else will see when they look at you from now on.”
“The look that everyone else will see when they see the new you.”
“But remember this,” she added then.
“But remember that what I’m doing right now is nothing more than a metaphor as well.”
“What I’m doing right now is no different than what you two are about to do yourselves.”
“So remember that this painful experience is just like all the others you’re about to go through as well.”
“Just like all the pain you’re about to go through as well.”
“Just like all the pain that’s going to come with everything else you’re about to go through as well.”
“Just like everything else that’s going to happen after this too.”
And that was when she gave us her look then.
When she looked us both up and down, starting at our feet and moving all the way up toward our faces too.
When she took in every inch of us just like we were about to take in every inch of ourselves too.
And when Alex and I had seen what she had seen, when we’d taken a look at ourselves in the mirror as well, that was when we saw what she had done then.
When we saw how much weight we had lost since we’d been gone.
And how much hair we had lost since we’d been gone as well.
We both looked so different then.
So different than ever before.
So different that it took us awhile to even recognize who we were looking at still.
But eventually we did.
Eventually we were able to see that it was us that we were looking at still.
“Do you see yourselves?”
“Do either one of you see yourselves?”
she asked us then.
“No,” Alex whispered in reply.
“No,” he said again after a moment as well.
“That’s because it’s not really you that you’re looking at,” she went on.
“It’s not really you that’s looking back at you right now.”
“It’s only a reflection of what used to be there instead.”
“Only a reflection of what used to be inside of you instead.”
“But don’t worry,” she added then, “because that reflection is about to change soon.”
“So don’t worry,” she repeated after a moment as well, “because very soon you won’t have to look at it anymore.”
“You won’t have to look at it for much longer either.”
“You won’t have to look at it for much longer,” she said again after a moment as well.
“And don’t worry either,” Sarah Lee added next, “because it’s not really you that’s going away either.”
“It’s not really you that’s disappearing either.”
“So don’t worry,” she repeated after a moment also.
“And don’t worry about this part either.”
“Because this is only the beginning too.”
“It’s only the beginning,” she said again as well.
“And there are going to be even more changes after this as well.”
“So don’t worry,” Sarah Lee added then, “and don’t worry at all.”
But as soon as she was done saying that, she then left us alone again as well.
She left us alone with our reflections in the mirror too.
She left us alone with our new selves too.
And she left us alone with our new lives as well.
But even though she was gone, even though she was no longer standing behind us, her presence was still there too.
It was still hanging over us as well, making sure we knew we weren’t really alone at all either.
Making sure we knew she wasn’t really gone at all either.
Making sure we knew she was never far away at all either.
And even though we knew that wasn’t true, even though we knew Sarah Lee wasn’t really there at all, her voice was still there too.
It was still ringing in our ears as well, making sure we remembered everything she had said too,
And making sure we remembered everything we were supposed to do as well too, just the same.
So after a moment or two, after we had both taken a deep breath together, after we had both exhaled together too, Alex and I both turned around again as well.
We both turned back around and faced the mirror again.
And even though it hurt, and even though it was uncomfortable, we both did our best to look at our reflections one more time too.
We both did our best to accept them one more time also.
And we both did our best to remember them one more time as well also, just like that too.
But even though it wasn’t easy for either one of us, we both did it anyway after all too.
We both did it because we knew we were supposed to do it too.
And we both did it because we didn’t have any other choice but to do it as well too.
So after a moment or two, after we both did our best to look at our reflections one last time again, Alex and I both turned back around once again.
We both turned back around and faced the room instead once again.
We both turned back around and faced Sarah Lee instead once again too.
And after we did, she was already looking right at us again also.
She was already looking at us again, waiting for us to be ready again.
She was already looking at us again, waiting for us to be ready so she could tell us what came next again.
So when she saw that both of us were ready, when she saw that both of us were looking right at her again as well, Sarah Lee took a deep breath herself also.
She took a deep breath before she said anything else again.
And when she did, her voice was very soft also.
“Now,” Sarah Lee said next, “it’s time for you both to go.”
“Now it’s time for you both to leave.”
“Now it’s time for you both to go home again.”
“But don’t worry,” she added after a moment also.
“Don’t worry,” she repeated after a moment again also.
“Because I’ll see you again soon.”
“And when I do,” Sarah Lee said next, “I’ll see you both in a whole new way instead.”
“So don’t worry,” she added one more time.
“And don’t worry at all either.”
“But remember what I told you also.”
“But remember everything I said too.”
“Because if you don’t,” Sarah Lee said next, “then you’ll never make it out of here.”
“But if you do,” she added then also.
“But if you do,” she repeated again.
“Then you’ll be just fine.”
With that said then, Sarah Lee looked at us each one more time also.
She looked at both of us with her eyes one more time.
And after another moment of silence passed again as well, she gave each of our hands a small squeeze too.
Then she let go of them instead.
And then she gave each of our shoulders a small pat instead.
