Walking and Talking {Private}

Hope smiled her perfect smile. "Th-thanks Reb-bekah." She picked up a liece of plain sheese and dug in. Sipping her water, she looked around the courtyard. ]"It rr-r-really is b-b-eautif-ful isnt-t it?"

Rebekah picled up a slice of pepperoni and looked at it. "Well," she said as she took a bite, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Rebekah took another bite and chewed thoroughly.

Hope nodded as she contemplated that. All she had ever wanted was to be like everyone else, to be normal and beautiful. Maybe she wasn't perfect, but she certainly was beautiful.

Rebekah finished her slice and laid on her back.

Hope watched Rebekah lean back like she wished she could. Instead she just sighed and leaned forward, her head in her hands.

Rebekah opened an eye. "You okay?"

Hope looked up. "Yeah, I'm f-f-fine. I just wish I could do so many things." She wished she could get in her bed without help from reluctant campers. She wished she didn't have a stutter. She wished she was normal. Hope didn't realize she said all of these thoughts out loud.

"Oh." Rebekah sat up feeling slightly bad. She never even thought about how hard simple things must be for Hope. "Why would you want to be unique? Your such a great character!"

Hope looked at Rebekah, wondering how she knew what she was thinking. Suddenly, she realized that she said all that out loud. "R-reb-bekah, that's the the issue. I-I-I am un-n-nique. I d-d-don't want t-to be."

Rebekah thought about it. As an writer she always tried to make her characters as different and unique as possible. "Oh.  I would love to be different." Rebekah wiggled her nose as she thought. "I... don't understand why you'd want to be normal. Rebekah looked around and sighed. She couldn't get her thoughts into words.

Hope thought for a moment. "Well, if-f-f I wasn-n-t in a-a-a wheelch-ch-chair, ittt might be different." Hope was mostly ok with her abinism and her autism, but the wheelchair was what was holding her back. Hope wished she could move and walk. She had always watched people dance, which was one more thing she had always wanted to do.

"Well.. . umm..." Rebekah looked nervous. "Well is it permanent?... Like, how long have you... you know?" Rebekah looked embarrassed. She was in no place to ever ask questions like this. Immediately she felt bad for what she said.

Hope shrugged. She could hear the shakiness of Rebekah's voice. "D-d-don't worrrry. I'm-m-m ask-ked-d a lot-t in som-m-e not-t s-so nic-ce w-w-ways." She stuttered through her story, how her dad had tried taking her to the orphanage after she was left on his doorstep. He got in a car crash and Hope had gotten a spinal Injury leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She looked down at her under developed legs and sighed. "So, yes. It-t is p-perm-man-ant."

Rebekah nodded. She thought about it, "Have you ever... you know asked your mom about it? Maybe receive a blessing?" She knew it was impossible. Hope would have to do something huge to get something so special. Gods didn't normally interfere.

Hope smiled at Rebekah's attempt. "You d-d-don't know h-h-how hard I I I I've trtrtried." Hope had prayed to the Christian God, the lowercase "g" Greek and Roman gods, she even tried praying to Allah and Buddah for help. Nothing ever happened but disappointment. Sometimes, she persuaded her dad to try and help her stand, to no avail. Hope would never walk, and she couldn't accept that.

"What if you like, I don't know... committed an act of bravery or showed heroism?" Rebekah didn't know why she was still trying. She couldn't think of anything.

Hope just looked at Rebekah. "I can't r-r-run, I c-can't j-j-jump. All I I I've g-g-got is is this." She pressed the sides of her ring she always wore (on her right hand of course) and her little dagger popped out. She just turned it over in her hand and sighed.

Rebekah sighed and laid back down. It was hopeless.

Hope squeezed the hilt of her dagger and it changed back into her ring. Slipping it onto her finger, she heard the flapping of wings in the sky. Otto landed on her shoulder and nuzzled up against her neck. Aww, I missed you too buddy! Otto had heard their conversation and tried to console Hope.

Rebekah opened her eyes and sat up again. "Where did you get your owl?"

Hope looked at Otto and back at Rebekah. "My dad got him for me when I was younger. Just as a little pet." Otto kept snuggling against her neck.

Revekah nodded, "He's cute."

Hope smiled. "Thank you." She saud confidently and without stuttering. Otto snuggled against her neck, then flew down to sit on her lap.

Rebekah sat back up and twiddled her thumbs, "So, what can you do?"

Hope looked over at Rebekah. "What d-d-do you me-mean?" She furrowed her brow and cocked her head in confusion.