A not so bedtime story

*whispers* Annacup = Amateur Psychologist.



So, there's this boy. Let's call him Arlo.

Arlo's a nice boy from a nice little farm community. He's smart; he's kind; he's a musician; he's a christian; he's a rescuer.

One day, Arlo met a girl. He liked this girl. A lot. He and his new best girl became very close indeed.

Then Arlo found out that his best girl was in trouble.
All the time.
She was never safe.
She had nowhere to go to be OK.
And she told him why.
She told him everything.
And Arlo loved her even more.

Arlo needed to help his best girl to be OK. He needed to care for her; to rescue her. But he was so far away. What could he do? He did his best to help his best girl everyday. He loved her. He accepted her. He supported her. And he was scared for her.

Then one day Arlo and his best girl had a big scare.


Arlo didn't know what to do. He was so far away. How could he rescue her? Arlo thought about the scary situation. He thought, and he thought, and he thought.

Arlo didn't understand. He felt overwhelmed. He felt powerless. He felt hopeless. He had never felt this way before. He didn't know what to do.

Arlo knew that when someone he loved felt like this, he would rescue them. He thought maybe someone would rescue him now. He waited. He waited, and he waited, and he waited. But no one rescued Arlo.

"Aauugh!" Arlo screamed. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to rescue himself. He had to find a way to be OK again. But how could a resucer who couldn't even rescue his best girl ever be OK?

Suddenly, he knew what to do. His best book would help him. It had all the answers. He searched, and he searched, and he searched. Finally, he found the answer. He would be OK again.

Best Girl didn't understand. Sure, it was a scary situation. But that wasn't really all that odd. You see, Best Girl lived in Scaresville. She knew all about scary. It definitely wasn't fun, and sometimes there were really big scares, but that's just a part of living in Scaresville.

Best Girl missed Arlo.

She missed him for a long time.

Arlo knows it's not his fault. It's not his choice. His best book gave him the answer he needed to be OK.

What Arlo didn't understand is that Best Girl never needed to be rescued. Not by him. One day she would rescue herself.

But it's pretty hard to find the strength to rescue yourself without your Arlo.

This story doesn't have a happy ending. It doesn't have a sad ending either. It simply ends. Maybe another chapter will be written another day. Maybe one day Arlo will be OK again.

I know Best Girl will be. She's smart; she's kind; she's a musician; she's a christian; she's a rescuer.

And she has found something that Arlo could never have given her, even though he tried 'till he cried. She had to find it on her own. But now she has it. And no one, not even the Mayor of Scaresville can take it away from her.

Best Girl has her very own map of all the roads that lead out of Scaresville.

And she's got a Navigatrix.