Sadie woke up on the floor by her doorway. She had a painful crick in her back, a major headache, and a new feeling she couldn’t place. The feeling was deep and dark. It felt as if it was a parasite that had been a part of for a long while and was only now taking effect when it was far too late to do anything. It left her feeling dizzy and sick. Slowly rising to her feet, Sadie stalked up their stairs and into the bathroom. She got a glimpse of herself in the mirror, despite the lack of light due to it being only around five in the morning. Her long light blonde hair looked matted and tangled. Her face looked pale and sunken. Her usually bright blue eyes now looked dull and lifeless. What’s happening to her?

After a long shower, Sadie sat in the living room curled up on the sofa. She usually had pretty high self-esteem, considering she never had any reason to bring it down. She may be lacking in physical attributes, but there’s nothing she can do about that. Sadie never found herself caught up in whether she was good enough for society’s standards. She simply just didn’t care what people thought of her. She would be lying if she said she never felt insecure, however, that’s just a part of human nature. Now she feels numb and dark.Her mind is spinning with blurry memories when her parents left her alone. She thought of how much time she spent with Mary when her parents should have been watching her. Do her parents even know about Mary? Sadie realizes she had never told them, and they didn’t care to hear anyways. All her years she spent neglecting the fact that her parents are disappointed in her began to pile up. Now she feels heavy.

In the back of her mind, one thing was also haunting Sadie. It was green. The same green that made Saide delirious last evening. The same green that had a subtle pain that made Sadie want to hug the rude stranger. The same pale green that was in Sadie’s dreams last night.

---

It had been a week since Sadie’s original revelation about her disappointing life and encounter with the all but pleasant stranger. She still felt weird and discombobulated, but slightly better than before. She had been laying low and avoiding her parents like the plague. Her parents would have forgotten about Sadie’s existence completely if they didn’t hear her light footsteps upstairs during unholy hours of the morning, and food missing from the fridge.
Sadie hadn’t left the house the entire time, if you don’t count her taking her dog, Charlie, out for a walk. Sadie was craving sunlight. She needed to get out of her funk and do something. She thinks of visiting Mary but remembers her grandson is coming and doesn’t want to disrupt their bonding time. Sadie decides the library is the best choice for now.

Sadie takes her phone with her and listens to music as she walks, to eliminate the possibility she’ll have another panic attack. She decides the Beatles are the best choice for a warm day like this. Strawberry Fields Forever fills her ears, as she walks down empty sidewalks. She feels better, like normal, but better. It was odd for her to go through such drastic mood changes, but who knows it could just be related to the end of her high schooling, and her impending college career. Sadie was going to be a literature major with a minor in philosophy and French. College seems daunting to most high schoolers, but the idea of better education where she can fully embrace her inner literature nerd sounds better than words. The only thing she would miss would be Mary, but she knew Mary would want to not only succeed but thrive in her new environment.

After a pleasant morning spent in the library, Sadie left with her arms filled with piles of wonderful new novels. It was now about one, and Sadie was beginning to get hungry. In a chipper mood, Sadie skipped down the street, careful not to topple her mountain of books. After awhile Sadie passed a cute little cafe and decided to stop there for lunch. As soon as the door opens, a small ding alerts the patrons around her that she has entered. Luckily there’s no line so Sadie skips over to the cashier.

“What can I do for you?” The cashier said to her. The cashier was a gorgeous, with short brown hair, and soft brown eyes. The cashier's name tag read Reina. Sadie thought Reina was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.
“I’ll have a muffin and iced tea please,” Sadie said lightly. She usually got nervous around cashiers but Reina seemed easy to talk too.
“Coming right up, can I have your name,” Reina said sweetly. “Sadie,” she responded. Reina’s lips turned up into a grin. “Wow you’re so lucky, I absolutely adore that name!” She squealed. Sadie couldn’t help but smile fondly at the cute cashier who was now writing down Sadie’s name on her cup. “I love the name Reina, it’s so,” Sadie paused to come up with the right word, “regal,” she decided on. Reina looked up and smiled at the girl. Sadie felt her heart melt a little, at the girl's natural beauty. “This may seem very forward and you might not be into girls, but would you like to get dinner tonight?” Reina asked hopefully. Sadie could’ve died on the spot. With all nerves put aside, Sadie nodded vigorously. After exchanging numbers Sadie left with her heart soaring. This will be good for her.

Notes

Any feedback would be lovely