Free Therapy by Kathryn Perez Page A

just rip them off and throw them away. I can handle the notes and the stares. I can pretty much handle anything with Jace in my life.”Hi,” a small voice says, startling me. I look over in the direction of my neighbor’s backyard and there’s a little girl standing there. She’s waving at me, so I wave back. A new family just moved in recently but I don’t pay much attention to them. Kids are always running around outside. The blond-haired little girl walks in my direction.
    “Hello,” she says, stopping in front of me.
    “Hi.” I look down and notice she’s wearing purple rain boots and a matching purple jacket. I wonder why she’s dressed like that on a sunny day like today.
    “Hi. What’s your name?” I ask.
    “I’m Vivvie.”
    “Oh, that’s a cute name. I’m Jessica. Do your parents know you’re outside alone? How old are you?”
    “I’m a big girl.”
    I raise my eyebrows and smile at her. She has little freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and she’s absolutely adorable.
    “Oh, a big girl, huh? Well I guess big girls get to play outside alone, then.”
    “Yes, they do. Why do you use windows instead of doors?” she asks.
    “Because I’m a big girl too and sometimes I don’t like doors.” She sits on the swing next to me and makes herself right at home.
    “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    This is one very forward and nosey little girl.
    “Um, no. I have a friend, but no boyfriend.”
    “Is your friend a boy?”
    “Yes. Why?”
    “I don’t have a boyfriend. Lots of girls at school have one, but I don’t.”
    She looks a little sad and I feel bad for thinking she was nosey.
    “Boyfriends are yucky, Vivvie. You don’t need one. You have lots of time for boys. Trust me, they are lots more trouble than they’re worth most times.”
    “What about your friend that’s a boy? Is he trouble?”
    I smile and shake my head.
    “No, he’s perfect. No trouble at all.”
    “You look happier.”
    Huh? What does she mean?
    “Um, Vivvie, how do you know if I look happier?” I ask gently.
    “I’ve seen you before. You always look really sad. Sometimes you even look really mad, but never happy.”
    “Oh.” I don’t know what else to say to that. It kind of makes me feel like shit. It’s terrible that it’s so obvious, even to a little kid.
    “Well, I’m okay now. There were mean girls at my school and they made me sad lots of times. They’re still mean, but they aren’t mean to me anymore. My friend looks out for me, which makes me happy.”
    She turns to look at me. “My school has mean girls and boys. They don’t like me much, but I don’t care. I don’t even let them make me cry anymore. I have a force field now.”
    “A force field?” I ask.
    “Yep, these rain boots and this jacket are my force field. My brother told me they have special powers and nothing people say can hurt me when I’m wearing my favorite color. My favorite color is purple!” She smiles and stands up. She twirls around with her arms wide. “See, lots of purple.”
    I smile. “Yes, lots of purple. Lots of force fields too. Those mean kids have nothing on you!”
    She reaches up to the lapel of her jacket. It has a little glittery purple snowflake pinned to it. She takes it off.
    “Here, you can have my special purple snowflake. I have lots of purple stuff, so you can keep this snowflake. My brother says this snowflake will work all by itself if I don’t have anything else in my favorite color to wear. So you can just keep that with you and those girls will never make you sad again, ever.”
    Her small open hand is extended to me and her innocence along with her kindness touches my heart. What a brave little girl.
    “Aw, thank you, Vivvie. But you don’t have to give me your special snowflake. You keep it.”
    “Nope, you can’t say no. It’s rude to say no to someone when they give you a gift. You have to take it.”
    “Well okay, then. I certainly would never want to be rude to you. Are you