On a Wednesday, she rolled into class.<\/p>\n
That bright green dress that didn\u2019t quite go with the rest of us, your hair pulled back, and your school uniform were all just right. She was in a wheelchair with bright wheels that looked like little suns and had braces on both legs.<\/p>\n
At the time, I thought, \u201cShe seems to know something I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first, everyone was nice to her. It\u2019s too soft. Like she was made of glass. Not me, though. I talked to her like I would any other person. Asked her where she was from. \u201cYou already know,\u201d she smiled.<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Then she called my name.<\/p>\n
She said it again, \u201cEleanor,\u201d in a soft but sure voice. \u201cDo you remember me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her with my mouth open a little. I tried to figure out where to put her face, but it didn\u2019t work. That I could remember, I had never seen her before in my life. In all the years I\u2019d been at this school, I had never met anyone who looked like her. But there was something in her eyes that made me feel like she was waiting for me to understand or remember.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, I don\u2019t\u2026\u201d I got off track and felt bad about it, but she didn\u2019t seem to mind.<\/p>\n
She shrugged and said, \u201cThat\u2019s fine.\u201d \u201cI understand it\u2019s been a while. When we last saw each other, you were very little.<\/p>\n
I was even less sure of what to do. I didn\u2019t get a chance to ask her more because the teacher told us to get going, but I had a strong feeling that this girl in the wheelchair knew something I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I felt drawn to her as the days went by. Violet was her name, and even though everyone else kept tiptoeing around her, the fact that she didn\u2019t expect that from me made me feel better. It took a while for us to become friends. I put her chair out when we ate lunch and helped her with her books. When the weather was nice, I even rolled her wheelchair across the school yard.<\/p>\n
The way she laughed was dry, but it made me laugh. She saw things in the world as if she knew something that most people didn\u2019t, and she wasn\u2019t afraid to say it.<\/p>\n
I stayed behind one afternoon after school to help her with her work. She always asked me for help with math, even though most of the time she was smarter than me.<\/p>\n
I pointed to a hard subject and said, \u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u201d \u201cWhy is it important to know this equation? Why bother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really don\u2019t remember, do you?\u201d Violet asked me with a smile that wouldn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you remember?\u201d I asked, still not sure.<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t quick to answer. She rolled her chair back and forth instead, putting her hands on the wheels. She then sighed and said, \u201cI used to be just like you.\u201d Not while sitting down. But the world I lived in had a lot of questions and solutions I couldn\u2019t find. I was lost too.<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t get what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said in a soft voice, \u201cI mean, we were friends when we were younger.\u201d In a different life and time. Well, something big did happen. It changed us both. Everything changed.<\/p>\n
I stared at her, but I couldn\u2019t understand what she was saying. \u201cDo you mean to say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused, and her eyes got a little narrow, as if she wasn\u2019t sure if she should tell me more or not. She finally told him, \u201cI shouldn\u2019t tell you this yet.\u201d Not yet. But you will be one day.<\/p>\n
Her words were vague, and I wasn\u2019t sure what to think about them. Violet has always been unique, but now it seems like she\u2019s speaking in a strange language. I didn\u2019t understand what she was joking about when she smiled, and sometimes she\u2019d look at me like she knew something that hadn\u2019t come out yet.<\/p>\n
Violet started to be more open over the next few weeks, but only in small ways. She told me about her life before she came to our school. She said she used to be healthy and full of energy, and she and some other kids would run around together. Things changed one day, though.<\/p>\n
She said one afternoon, her voice barely above a whisper, \u201cI was in an accident.\u201d \u201cThe doctors weren\u2019t able to fully fix it.\u201d My legs aren\u2019t working as well as they used to. That\u2019s okay, though. I changed the way I live. \u201cNew ways to get ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first time she had talked about the truck crash. I never asked what had happened because I didn\u2019t want to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore,\u201d I said slowly, \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean.\u201d \u201cDo you mean to say that?\u201d \u201cHow could we have been friends?\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet\u2019s face softened, and I saw a flash of weakness for the first time. She said in a low voice, \u201cYou used to be my friend.\u201d \u201cI loved you very much.\u201d It was something that made us forget, though.<\/p>\n
I was about to ask her what she meant when I had an idea. \u201cDo you mean to say that we knew each other before this life?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said yes. \u201cYes, we did.\u201d You were the reason I made it through. You were supposed to help me, and I was supposed to help you. But we got split up.<\/p>\n
Everything she said made no sense to me, but as she went on, I started to wonder if there was some truth to it. The way she spoke and the way we talked to each other felt strangely familiar.<\/p>\n
All of the pieces started to fit together when we were walking to the bus stop together one night. There was a mark on her wrist that I could just barely make out under her shirt sleeve. It was a small, delicate sign that I had seen before. The sign from a dream I had years ago made my mind race. That dream had always felt so real to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that tattoo?\u201d I asked Violet, my voice shaking a little.<\/p>\n
She looked at it, then back at me, and her smile was even smarter than before. \u201cThat\u2019s important. It\u2019s the key to everything. There was a link between us before we met again.<\/p>\n
The thought hit me like a wave. It was all coming together: the dream, the feeling of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, and the thought that something was left unsaid.<\/p>\n
I told myself, \u201cI think I remember,\u201d but she didn\u2019t hear me. \u201cI believe I remember you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet smiled, and her eyes seemed to be shining with happiness. \u201cYou\u2019re beginning to remember.\u201d I knew you would. Eleanor, it\u2019s not just about the wheelchair. What we were meant to do together is at stake. We must not forget that the world needs us to do something important. \u201cDo not do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just as I was about to ask her what it was, though, something strange happened.<\/p>\n
A man got out of a car that pulled up next to us. He looked very important as he walked over to us. He was tall and dressed in a suit. He spoke in a stern voice, \u201cViolet, it\u2019s time.\u201d Our search has been on for you.<\/p>\n
The look on Violet\u2019s face changed right away. She wasn\u2019t the relaxed, funny girl I had grown to know. Suddenly, she became serious and focused.<\/p>\n
She turned to me and said, \u201cThis is where our paths split again.\u201d It took me my whole life to wait for you to remember and understand what we need to do. That being said, you can\u2019t do that with me. You need to do it by yourself now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d I asked because I needed to know. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cI\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d \u201cBut I know what you need to know to find your own way,\u201d she said. When the time comes, you\u2019ll know.<\/p>\n
The suit-wearing man turned to leave, but Violet stopped him. One more time, she looked back at me. \u201cEleanor, you\u2019re ready now.\u201d Have faith in yourself. It was never just about me that you were on this journey. You were always the focus. You\u2019ve always had the power.<\/p>\n
She was gone in an instant.<\/p>\n
I thought about everything Violet had said over and over again in the days that followed. Everything\u2014her words, the mysterious message, and the man\u2019s sudden appearance\u2014pointed to something bigger, something I had never thought of before.<\/p>\n
Still, I knew deep down that she was right. I could change my life at any time. The turns and bends, dreams, and memories were not just random events. I had to put them together because they were parts of a bigger puzzle.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure what would happen, but I was ready. I was finally ready to move on.<\/p>\n
Share this story if it speaks to you and if you\u2019ve ever thought there was more to your life than meets the eye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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