Sarah Sadness is a young girl who spends all of her spare time in a treehouse next to her family home. When she is not at school, you can find her in the treehouse. Up in the midst of the foliage where the birds sing, squirrels perch on the seals of the open treehouse windows while Sarah draws pretty pictures of the clouds.
Sarah thinks about many things. Most of the time, she thinks deeply, getting so lost in thought that she completely forgets about time. Sometimes, when her mom calls her for dinner,
“Sarah, dinner’s ready.” Sarah does not here her.
This is because she is listening to pretty music on her iPhone. She likes to play the music a bit loud because it inspires her to draw more creatively. And so, her mom would have to come out into the backyard at the base of the tree and ring a bell that Sarah setup to ensure her privacy.
“Sarah, dinner is ready.” Announced her mom, sweetly.
It was not her mom’s voice that Sarah heard. You see, no one was allowed in Sarah’s treehouse, except for her dog Spock. Sarah had built a special system for Spock to enter the treehouse. It was a pulley mechanism wherein Spock would jump into a special, little basket which Sarah would hoist up, allowing Spock to jump into her treehouse.
The more she pulled the rope, the higher Spock would rise until finally he would bounce into the treehouse, so happy to see his owner. Then, Sarah would give him some treats and he would relax on his fluffy cushion right next to the window where the squirrels sat.
She built the treehouse all by herself, as well as Spock’s pulley system. She was also an excellent artist and loved to create drawings with pencils and charcoal.
But Sarah was a sad girl. No one knew why, not even her doctor. She was not happy living in the world, but for no apparent reason. Yet, in the solitude of her treehouse, she felt at one with nature and the animals. She would go inside herself, immersed in her artwork. It was only during these moments that she found peace and faint glimmers of happiness.
Sarah also loved to write stories about her feelings. In fact, by the age of 12, she had already created a fantasy world of characters that she called her [imaginary] friends, along with stories to match. She likes to talk to her friends, and they like to talk to her. Sarah does not have any friends in the real world. But Spock, the birds and the squirrels all love her.
And an only child. Her parents love her dearly and have grown to accept that their only daughter is slightly different, though highly intelligent and does well in school. As shy as Sarah is, she has empathy for others. Even though she keeps to herself, she can sense other people’s emotions and what they think and feel. Sometimes, these insights are troubling for her as she struggles to understand the sometimes-complex emotions of others through this gift that she has, on top of making sense of her own feelings.
Now that you know a bit about Sarah, stay tuned for our next story where we will meet some of Sarah’s imaginary friends who are just as real as any human. To Sarah, at least.
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