Universe Girl

When William was a small child, he witnessed a very strange thing. His mother had taken him with her to meet with some of her old high school friends in a park on a very sunny day in the middle of December. It was very cold outside, but his mother had made him wear too many layers and he was too hot. They had stopped at a small coffee store and she got him a small hot cocoa with marshmellows and she got something very hard to say with an extra shot of something equally difficult to say. He wanted what she had because it smelled good, but he changed his mind after taking a small sip from hers. He learned that day not to trust his nose.

They were walking along one of the dirt paths that ran through the park. She made him hold her hand even though he didn't want to. He knew now that she wanted to look like a good mom, but then...The dirt path led to a very big cobblestone path; his mother told him that it was the main road through the park. People were riding bikes and trying to fly kites (just becuase it was sunny didn't mean a kite would fly). There was a swing set and a slide and a teeter-totter. His mother bent down so she was eye level with him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she stood and patted him on the back and sent him to play with the other kids while she went and caught up with her friends. That was a strange thing about his parents and thier friends; they loved talking and being together, but they ignored the people they didn't know. They complained they never got to see friends any more, but then why wouldn't they make new friends? He shrugged his shoulders and took a seat on a swing next to a girl in pig tails and a pink jacket. She smiled at him as she swung past again and again. He smiled at her, but he didn't want to swing that much, not even to see who could get the highest. He knew he would win; he could always get his feet over the bar the fastest in school.

Instead of swinging, he looked over the park. There were a lot of kids and moms, but not too many other people. Maybe they still had to work, even though Christmas was only a few days away. There was one girl that was standing across from him, across the expanse of cobblestone path. She was wearing jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt and a scarf, but she didn't look too cold. He wished he could take off some of his clothes so he was like her, but his mother would yell at him, maybe spank him. She was holding a sign in her hand, and since he had just learned to read, it was hard for him to figure out what it said.

SAVE THE WORLD, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

He was pretty sure that was what it said. He didn't understand it entirely, but he thought that it had to deal with the sad things he saw on the Discovery Channel with his dad. People were cutting too many trees down, fish were dying from polluted water, and something called the ozone was going away (he only sort of knew what the ozone was - they were going to study it in school after Christmas break). Plus his mother always said things like, "Eat all your veggies, Will, there are children in the world that don't have anything to eat at all." He thought that this girl was probably talking about all of that. The girl had a hat by her feet that had two dollars and some shiny coins in it.

A mom and her kids walked by her; the mom pretended to be interested in what her kids were saying, but she did it too intently and William knew she was avoiding the girl, because sometimes he avoided the janitor's eyes at his school (the man made William uncomfortable for some reason, though William was sure that the man was nice and probably had a dog).

The girl didn't look at the mom for very long. She was standing there without moving, but she didn't look bored, and she didn't close her eyes for a quick nap like William did when he was standing in the lunch line. A dog running on the path in front of its owner stopped to sniff her pants, and she smiled. She reached down and began rubbing the dog's head and body. She stood up again when the dog's owner caught up with the dog and smiled at the woman. She smiled back, then read her sign and her face changed. "Get a job," she said in an angry voice and led the dog off. The girl frowned slightly and watched the woman walk for a little while, and then continued her stance.

A long time passed and no one came by. William glanced over at his mother and a soft smile graced his lips; he was glad that his mother was having fun with her friends, and that people weren't mean to her like they were to the girl in front of him.

He turned his head and noticed three men walking up the path carrying breifcases and wearing suits like his father had. They were talking about very important things (William's dad said that the things that men in suits said were very important), and they all had cups in their free hands. When they walked by the girl, she said, "Save the world gentlemen, for just the change in your pockets." They stopped and looked at her, but they did not give her the change in their pockets.

"The world isn't for saving anymore, kid," one of the guys said. William decided that he had eyes like his janitor's.

"The only thing that needs taking care of is yourself. Learn it now and you won't have to when it's too late." They all shook their heads and continued walking. As they walked by, the third man said to his companions, "We're all idealistic at twenty."

William was sad for this girl, and he wanted to save the world, like Spider-man did. His mother was hugging all her friends, which meant they were saying good-bye. He quickly jumped out of his swing and stuck his right hand into his pocket, fishing around for his allowance. He had saved up three dollars and 57 cents, and he didn't really want to give it up because it took so long to save and he really wanted this car at the store...

He approached the girl he had been watching and she smiled down at him.

"I want to save the world, but all I've got is three dollars, and that can't even buy me a car." He shrugged at her and put his allowance into her hat.

"Thank you William. That was more than people who have much more money than you have put in." He was surpirsed that she knew his name, but it didn't alarm him for some reason.

"Who are you?" he asked, and she smiled.

"I am you, your parents, your friends, your school, the red car you wanted to buy with your allowance. I am everything." She smiled and he smiled at her.

"How are you going to save the world?" he asked. She looked sad.

"I can only do as much as people want to put in." His mother called out for him and began hurrying over to him.

"Don't let the world make you forget William," she said, and then resumed looking out over the park. He smiled a small smile, and then turned and ran to his mother.

"William!" she said when she got a hold of his hand. "What have I said about talking to strangers?" William apologized to her and said he wouldn't do it again. She hugged him tightly to her, her worry real, and then let him go.

"Let's go home," she said, "I'll make you a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch." He told her that would be good, and they began walking home, towards the dirt path that had brought them to the cobblestone. William looked back to see the girl one last time, but she was no longer there. Instead there was a tree that looked like it had been there as long as the other trees in the park. He smiled again and promised the universe that he wouldn't forget.