Don't you wish?

“What’s wrong?”

“Just thinking…that’s all.”

“Whatever it is, it has you upset. Tell me what it is.”

“You sure you want to know?”

“Positive.”

“…Haven’t you ever wanted to be alone?”

“Of course.”

“No I mean…be entirely alone. To be left to mull through your thoughts, to cry without being ridiculed…too…”

“Too?”

“Too be allowed to act like a child. To cry, scream, pound and demand the impossible. Too be allowed to ask silly questions and not be teased or reprimanded. Don’t you ever wish for that?”

“…”

“Don’t you ever wish to be comforted like a five year old by your mother? To have people tell you, ‘Go ahead…it’s alright to be like that.’ Just once?”

“But why act so childish?”

“Because it isn’t childish. It’s being able to bear the pain. To make it seem like a hug and meaningless words will make the pain go away. To make it seem like the world is less cruel and the burdens less important.”

“Now that I think about it…”

“Do you still think it’s childish?”

“No…in fact it seems…reasonable.”

“That’s what I thought…”