*Hugs*

(996 words)

Laughter. His laughter, Sheri thought, always meant that someone was getting picked on. Sure enough, when she rounded the corner, she saw Alan and the Gang tormenting a little boy in the park, in the sandbox of all places. Geez, don’t they do that enough at school?

Sheri steeled herself and marched right up behind Alan. She grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her, “Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size?” Alan was too startled to reply so Sheri continued, “Actually, why do you have to pick on anyone at all? Move off and let the boy alone.” She glared at him. Alan recoiled from her and, for once, had no witless reply.

He tried to collect himself, but only managed a weak, “C’mon boys,” before shuffling off. The boys looked at each other, shrugged and followed their leader. Once they left, she turned her attention to the young boy, who was still trembling and curled in the sand.

“Hey,” she said gently as she sat down next to the boy, “Don’t mind those jerks. They pick on everyone. They pick on me all the time,” the boy peeked out from under his arm, she smiled at him and continued, “Do you know why?” he uncurled his arm a little to allow his head to shake no, “It’s because I wear pink,” she motioned to her herself: her pink t-shirt, pink pants, pink socks and pink shoes, all of which had pink hearts on them.

The boy smiled slightly as he sat up, “I like pink,” he said softly.

Sheri grinned, “Me too,” they shared a moment before she asked, “If you want to talk, I’ll listen. I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with bullies, maybe I can help you.”

At this, the boy looked down and his shoulders sagged. As she reached out to comfort him, a passerby sneezed. Sheri turned to say “bless you,” when the boy bolted. Wanting to still help the boy, she quickly pushed herself up and ran after him.

It felt like they were running forever before he finally slowed and collapsed on a bench. Sheri dropped down next to him.

“What… was… that…” Sheri took in a deep breath, “about?” She looked over at him. He just stared at the ground. For several minutes they just sat there.

Finally the boy hesitantly whispered, “I’m afraid…” Sheri waited patiently as he gathered his courage to continue, “…of sneezes.” He stiffened, expecting her laughter. When he didn’t hear it, he looked up at her.

Sheri was smiling softly, “You know what I used to be afraid of?”

“What?” he asked.

“Kites.”

“Kites?” he repeated and then ventured, “How di’ you get ov’r it?

“Well,” she drew out the word, drawing in his attention, “I found a secret technique in a book. Do you want me to show you?”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded vigorously.

“Okay,” she shifted on the bench to face him, “Sit back and close your eyes.” He scooted back and leaned against the back of the bench, his feet dangling off the end. He squirmed a bit and then closed his eyes.

“Now, breathe in deep and slowly let it out,” she continued to guide him in his breathing for a few minutes.

When he looked almost asleep, she whispered near his ear, “Listen to what I describe and see yourself there. You smell the salt of the ocean. You feel the sun warm on your arms. You feel the sand between your bare toes.”

At this, his feet wiggled a bit.

Sheri continued, “This place is calm and peaceful. Everything is nice as you walk along the beach. Further on the beach, you see something. It’s a dark, ugly shell. At first, you cringe from it.”

The boy hugged his arms to himself as she talked.

“You don’t like it. Don’t want to be near it. You’re afraid of it… But you don’t want it to stay there. This is such a beautiful place for such an ugly thing,” she paused as she let this sink into his mind, “You go over to it and slowly pick it up.”

His arms slowly relaxed.

“You grab the hideous shell,” Sheri spoke quickly, “You realize that it’s your fear of sneezes and you throw it out into the ocean as hard as you can!”

His faced scrunched up and his breathing was ragged.

“All is good now. The beach is pretty and peaceful again. You have no fear,” she watched as he relaxed, “On the count of three, you’ll open your eyes and feel relaxed and refreshed, and not so afraid of sneezes,” she paused a moment, “One, two, three.”

The boy opened his eyes and beamed at her.

“Feel better?” she asked.

As he opened his mouth to respond, a passerby sneezed. A shudder ran through him and he grabbed onto Sheri’s arm. After a moment, he relaxed his grip and looked up at her. She smiled back which gave him a measure of confidence.

“You didn’t run away,” she pulled him into a hug. Stunned, the boy froze. Sheri pulled back, a worried look on her face, “I’m sorry…”

The boy’s face turned bright red, “Uh… thanks… uh…”

“I’m Sheri.”

The boy shyly responded, “I’m Jimmy. Thanks for helpin’ me.”

“You’re welcome!” she glanced at her watch, “Do you come to the park often?”

“Yeah, almost ev’ry day,” he nodded, a tinge of pink still colored his cheeks.

“You want to meet here tomorrow? We can do the exercise again and keep doing it until you’re not afraid.”

His eyes went wide, “D’ya mean it?!”

“Of course,” Sheri stood up, “I’ll meet you here about this time tomorrow. Okay?”

“You betcha!” Jimmy sprang to his feet.

“See you tomorrow then!” Sheri waved as she walked away.

Jimmy waved and watched her walk out of sight. Turning towards home, he started to whistle. I hope my fear doesn’t go away too fast. I want another hug!