The girl who lived

’Calm down, Leila! I cannot believe this stresses you out. After everything that happened…everyone knows your story. Your life is an open book.’

’Come on, little girl, don’t be shy! Do you hear the crowd out there, cheering? These people came to express their gratitude. You changed the lives of millions – you made history, darling!’

Leila did not look good at all. Her whole body was trembling and she was pale like a ghost – this last comparison might actually be an insult to the ghosts, since they actually look more alive.

’M…may I rehearse it for the last time, please? I hate getting on your nerves but last night I made some final changes – well, actually I have pretty much written a new speech and I’m in desperate need of your opinion, even though I cannot imagine that after last year’s events anything could embarass me at all…’

’Shoot out, kiddo!’ – her grandfather smiled softly.

’Good afternoon and thank you all for being here today. My name is Leila – don’t worry, I won’t repeat all of the information you already knew about me on account of Facebook – however, I would like to tell you the story of another girl whose sister contacted me yesterday evening. A story so strikingly similar to mine that I once again reevaluated my situation.

 Fiona was an unusual creature. She wore handmade clothes which even her grandmother found old-fashioned; her hair was delicate as silk of an indescribable colour, something between grey and peanut brown. Fiona had an uncanny ability to go unnoticed by strangers; however, she left a lasting impression on people who spent a longer while around her. Her gaze was distant most of the time. In the beginning, some of her teachers and classmates tried to talk to her but they couldn’t bear the penetrating look of her eyes – it was like she could see right through them without even saying a word.

Some started to call a her a witch. Later, the braver ones threw rocks on her. Once she found a dead pigeon before their front door with a message attached to its leg: ’It was innocent and died – so why are you still alive?’ The children around her started to be more and more bold. Fiona never shrieked or even raised an eyebrow – it seemed that she didn’t realise the gravity of the situation.

Her death was rather pathetic…excuse me, I just…it’s a terribly unnatural thing talking about a deceased girl of my age. Anyway, some of the older students organised a bonfire at a field nearby on Saint Ivan’s Day – the one Shakespeare wrote about in the ’A Midsummer’s Night Dream’. They invited Fiona as well, which, given the aforementioned circumstances was rather peculiar. To their great surprise, she said yes. 'Her whole attitude changed’ – her older sister, Mira told me. ’For the first time in her life, she seemed to be here, in our world, like an average teenage girl who is excited to go to a party. Several hours prior to the event she entered Mira’s room with a faint smile on her face and asked her how she looked. Mira was studying for her exams, so she didn’t pay much attention at first – but something in Fiona’s tone made her look up. Seeing the perplexed look in her eyes, the girl smiled and threw her a kiss. ’That is exactly the reaction I was hoping for!’ – she said. ’Mira, I’m sorry that since my birth mom and dad only paid attention to me and my eccentricity… I promise you this is about to change. Take care!’ – her last words were almost a whisper but Fiona heard them nevertheless. A flash of cold ran down her spine but she quickly dismissed the feeling, turning back to her exercise book.

Fiona didn’t come home that evening. The day after Mira woke up after hearing her mother’s cry of sorrow and her father’s desperate attempts to calm her. In their mailbox they found an envelope, with black ashes inside and a note written with blood red letters: She really was a witch, after all, standing in the fire like a queen.

That day wasn’t meant to go into history as Facebook’s Waterloo even though it would have deserved it way more than the story of my fellow bullies’ video who tried to drown me in the river during a school trip. The video made about this went viral – while hers hadn’t, even though Facebook didn’t remove it for a long time. I had the opportunity to take measures against social media platforms’ promotion of violent content and with the help of specialists develop strict regulations preventing any forms of bullying and humiliating people in the online space – she didn’t get the opportunity. I am aware that many of you standing here, right in front of me, have experienced your unique online traumas – be it sexual harassment, hate speech or misuse of private information – before Mira’s letter I never considered us to be the lucky ones but in fact we are because we’ve survived. I strongly believe that the dark times are behind us now – but we must never forget our stories… as well as the stories of those who didn’t get the chance to tell them.’

’BRAVO, little girl!’

’So, what is your verdict?’ – asked Leila, looking at the small circle of her friends and relatives surrounding her. The speech seemed to have transformed her completely – there she was, standing in front of them, staring into the distance – just like Fiona must have had done several months before.

’You grew up so fast. Overnight, actually.’ – her father said, softly.

 ’And you resemble that girl so much, I felt like she was the one telling her story through her. You are about to have a wonderful speech, giving comfort to those people out there and to Fiona’s family. Now, go ahead, what are you waiting for?’

Leila cast on last glance at them, took a deep breath and stepped out on the stage.