Restart My Heart

The First Time Ever

song from my writing playlist: Dawn by Dario Marianelli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Pride and Prejudice soundtrack; I love this movie so much y'all)

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The first time kids her own age ever called Adelaide Sallow ugly was in kindergarten. It was the day of the Halloween celebration at her school, and she was dressed like a princess. She brought her own paper bag to collect candy, but when she arrived at her assigned buddy-group, they told her the costume would be more believable if the bag was on her head instead. Adelaide made a vow every day after to tell every person she saw, no matter who they were, at least one thing she liked about them.

The first time a baby ever cried in Adelaide's presence was on her birthday. Her parents had taken her out for a treat and brought her her favorite candy. In the candy shop, a mother stood, pushing a stroller to the counter. When the baby cried (because of her, she knew. Everybody knew), she felt so bad for upsetting it, she gave her birthday present to the baby.

The first time she ever made a friend, she was at a charity masquerade ball. Adelaide Sallow met Alberta Fernsby, and it was like fate. It was like for the first time ever, someone looked past her unappealing face and into her loving soul. It was summer time, and they spoke every day over the phone for months. They completely adored each other.

For the first time ever, Adelaide was happy. She was happy because she would be seeing her best friend Alberta at school. She would have something to look forward to, finally.

The first time Adelaide ever cried herself to sleep was after the first day of school. She approached her best friend in the hallway and Alberta, unable to see past her unattractive face, did not recognize Adelaide. She introduced herself, thinking it a fluke, but was disheartened at Alberta's unfriendly gasp of horror. Adelaide agreed not to bother her friend again.

The first time Aten, a monster in charge of bringing sorrow to the girl, appeared in Adelaide's bedroom, it was that same night. Every child in the world is assigned a monster in their life, but as Aten took one look at the tears freshly dried upon her face, he knew that Adelaide had been assigned too many. Instead of completing his orders, Aten used his claw to fold the blanket at the foot of the bed over her body to keep her warm.

For the first time ever, we were shown that maybe a monster could be kind, too. With that sentiment in Aten's head, he agreed to grant Adelaide one wish for all her troubles.

"If your intentions are pure and your heart is kind," he whispered, "I will give you the thing your soul most desires."

The first time Adelaide ever looked in the mirror with delight, it was the next day. She was happy with her appearance. Not because she was pretty, for she still had an unsightly face. She was happy because, for the first time ever, she knew her soul would finally be seen.