Transformational

Twelve year old Mia Sanderson wants for nothing and gives nothing in return. Her world is full of love, her life happy and plentiful. Blessed with hard-working parents, living a comfortable life in the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Mia’s mother and father are pillars of their community, regularly donating time and money to worthy causes, hoping that their only child will follow suit. Despite their best efforts, Mia has always refused to share. When she was a toddler, she refused to share her toys with the other children, at Easter, she would hoard all of her sweet spoils.

Mia’s mother would plead with her; “You are a kind girl, but why can’t you share? It feels good to give Mia, and you have more than you need.” 

But Mia refused. “What’s mine is mine” she would say.

Those around her became accustomed to Mia’s reluctance to share, hoping that as she grew, so would her generosity.  

***

Summer break had arrived. Mia was on holiday with her parents in New Orleans. The city was  bursting with life as thousands of people enjoyed the summer street festival. Floats carrying flamboyant dancers, musicians and oversized figurines paraded down the main streets cheered on by the buzzing crowd. Vibrant music intertwined with the roar of the cheers, shouts and chatter of the bobbing heads dancing in the street. Mia soaked in the party atmosphere before her, she looked across at her mother and father, they looked happy, even Dad was allowing his normally rigid body to sway loosely with the beat. Mia felt a wave of happiness, then as the welcoming aroma of food drifted over, a wave of hunger as her stomach began to growl. 

The family bought food from one of the many street vendors at the festival. Mia’s eyes widened as she saw the sizzling chicken, the towering burgers and the stone baked pizzas with all the toppings you could wish for. Mia insisted that she have a pizza twice the size of her head.

“You will never eat all that, her mum said”. 

As the family walked along the bustling streets, enjoying their food, Mia focused so much on her pizza that she hadn’t realised that she had lost sight of her parents who had melted into the sea of dancers and spectators. Mia stopped in her tracks and called out for her mother and father but the noise was so great that her cries went unheard. Her eyes scanned the countless faces before her, none of which had any resemblance to her parents. Her heart started to flutter and panic crept up from her toes, into her tummy. She closed her giant pizza box to prevent salty tears from plopping onto her food. “I know, she thought, I will get up high to see if I can spot them” 

Mia wiped away her tears and made her way to the edge of the crowds towards the many stores and alleyways. She found a large bin at the end of an alleyway with a wooden crate next to it. “Perfect!” she exclaimed, feeling very pleased with herself. She lifted her foot to climb the box and then pushed herself on top of the  large, black, stinky bin. As she scanned the crowd below, she heard a shout from behind the bin. 

“Little girl! Hey there, little girl!”

Mia turned to the voice and saw the tired eyes of an old homeless woman peering up at her. The woman looked longingly at the greasy pizza box Mia clutched under her arm. The delicious aroma of the still warm pizza drifted out of the box towards the imposing and less appetising odour of the homeless woman on the floor.

“I am so hungry, please may I have a slice of your pizza?”

Mia didn’t hesitate in her reply. “No, I’m sorry but this is my pizza.”

The old woman’s dark eyes frowned at the girl looking down on her. 

“I beg of you, I haven’t eaten for two days now, please just spare one slice.”

“That is a shame, old woman. But this is my pizza, which my parents bought for me.”

Mia ignored the stare of the hungry old woman and continued to scan the crowd. She spotted a policewoman and decided to run to her for help. She started to climb down from the bin, and stopped suddenly as the old woman appeared in front of her. 

“Before you go, I want to give you one last chance to be kind enough to share a small part of your very large pizza, little girl. I have nothing and you have more than you need.”

Mia ignored the pleas of the woman and turned to walk away, only to be stopped by the frail old woman, who had locked her long wrinkled fingers around Mia’s wrist. To Mia’s horror the old woman’s eyes misted over to oyster shell grey as she muttered incantations of an ancient spell. Mia tried to release her grasp, but this ‘frail’ old woman showed unusual strength in her grasp.  There was a sudden breeze in the alley, causing litter to dance up the walls and wisps of her grey hair to fly out from under the old woman’s hood. Her eyes returned. Like a python shedding its skin, the woman transformed from a hunched over old beggar to a tall, slender woman with smooth black skin and long braided hair dotted with sky blue beads. She released Mia’s arm and without a word walked away. 

Mia stood there stunned, for a moment. Then turned to run into the street to find her parents and explain this strange encounter. But Mia’s legs wobbled and felt weak. She looked down and cried out in shock as she saw the old, frail body of the beggar. She felt her face and looked at her hands, the ridges, lines and folds, hanging off of her skinny frame. Mia slowly walked from the alley, around the corner to the nearest store window. She stared, in disbelief at her reflection.

“No. no, no, this isn’t real!” The old woman staring back at her echoed her cries and mirrored her shocked face, her wrinkly hands against her cheeks. Mia slumped down against the store window and sat for a while. An hour passed, and Mia began to feel the pangs of hunger. She shuffled off back to the alley to find the pizza box. It still lay on the floor where she had dropped it, thankfully, the lid was still closed and the pizza was still inside. Mia sat and ate two slices, with only two slices remaining. I must save that for later, she thought and wrapped them in a tissue, securing them in the long trench coat pocket. The salty pizza made her thirsty, she looked around for her parents. If I find Mum and Dad everything will be ok, she thought. 

Mia slowly made her way along the edges of the heaving streets, her old eyes strained to scan the crowd, her body ached. It was no use, she was lost, she was alone, and she definitely wasn’t feeling herself. She sat on a bench in a nearby park watching families play and people strolling past after a day of festival fun. Mia’s thirst forced her to ask passers by if they could spare some change so she could buy water. Mia felt ashamed, but this soon turned to desperation as her thirst increased and the people she pleaded with denied her very existence. It began to go dark and Mia began to feel cold, scared and alone in the world. Mia then noticed a woman approach, her clothes were dirty and she pulled a shopping cart full of what looked to Mia like junk. 

“Come with me.” The woman said. Mia hesitated, this was a stranger, she knew better to go off with strangers. 

“Come on, I won’t bite. Do you want to sleep on a park bench or under a roof tonight?” 

Mia didn’t like the thought of sleeping out in the open. The darkening sky threatened a storm. She cautiously followed the woman, learning along the way that her name was Suzy and she had lived on the streets of New Orleans for (she thinks) five years, after losing her uninsured home in a fire, then her job after suffering from depression. Mia felt a tightness in her chest as she heard Suzy’s story. That poor woman, she thought. She’s just a person like me, but life has been cruel to her. 

After a while, they arrived at a homeless shelter, where Mia was delighted to receive a small meal, water, and a cot for the night. She had never felt so grateful. 

The morning came and Mia found herself standing with the other homeless people outside the shelter, as the doors locked shut for the day. They were a friendly bunch, despite their hard life and weathered bodies. Mia marvelled at how people enduring such a hard life could still smile. Mia followed Suzy who showed her the best tourist spots for begging. But they gained very little from the passers-by. Mia remembered the two slices of pizza in her pocket. She carefully unwrapped the cold slices as though unwrapping a precious gift on Christmas Day. As she lifted the first slice to her lips, she felt the stare of nearby Suzy who was positioned in a doorway on the opposite side of the street. Mia walked over to Suzy and with a smile, passed her the last slice of pizza. Suzy thanked Mia, who scuttled back across to her position, enjoying an unfamiliar but not unpleasant warmth inside. 

The day soon passed and night began to fall, Suzy had moved further along the street. Mia closed her eyes, faint with hunger, and devoid of all hope. Am I to die in this old body? Just as she prepared to surrender to the heavy weight of thirst and hunger, a voice said, “Excuse me, would you like this? I couldn’t possibly eat it all”

Mia opened her eyes and looked up at the person in front of her. She saw the face of a young boy, standing with his mother and father. He placed his open box of street food on the floor next to Mia. Two tacos lay blanketed in melted cheese on a bed of rice and peas.  

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mia stammered. 

Mia felt a wave of admiration for this stranger, this boy who gifted his meal to an old woman on the street.

“You are welcome,” he said with sparkling eyes. 

His mother then stooped down and passed Mia some change from her purse. 

“We don’t have a lot, but this should buy you another meal at least. Be well.” 

And with that, they turned and walked away. 

Mia sobbed. Overcome with gratitude at the kindness of strangers. But there was another, unfamiliar feeling that rose up in Mia at that moment, she felt ashamed. She reflected on the food she had wasted and the selfishness she had shown to her loved ones, never mind complete strangers. She hung her head in shame and sobbed. Through the tears, two feet in elaborately beaded sandals appeared. Mia lifted her head, to find the same, slender woman with the braided hair. 

“Do you understand now, child?” She said.

“Yes. I understand.” Mia was now wrestling with her uncontrollable sobbing, her hands to her face, hiding herself from the world. 

Then silence. The woman no longer stood in front of her. Mia then noticed that her face felt smooth. She felt around her face and then looked at her hands. To her delight, she saw twelve year old hands before her. Mia jumped to her feet and ran to the nearest shop window. Sure enough, the reflection staring back at her was her old self, a young girl, with shiny auburn hair and bright green eyes. Mia was overjoyed and proceeded to do a little celebratory jig. She ran along the streets, to the police station.

Mia decided that she wouldn’t try and explain that she had been body swapped by a local witch but instead explained who she was and that she had lost her parents. They knew who she was, having had a report of a missing girl matching her description. Her frantic parents soon arrived and when they burst into the station, they both squeezed her so hard, she thought she might faint. Or was that just hunger? 

Riding high on the wave of relief and happiness to be reunited, they went to find breakfast on the now bustling streets. Mia never ate so fast, she thought she might choke, food had never tasted so good. She savoured every mouthful, closing her eyes while saying, “Thank you, thank you so much.” 

Her parents both looked both delighted and stunned to hear their daughter’s gratitude. The family walked down the street towards their hotel, passing by the Voodoo shop next to the alleyway. The tall woman with braided hair stood looking through the window, her eyes met with Mia’s, who gave her a smile and a nod.  

***

Mia blossomed into a happy and compassionate woman, who eventually married. By a wondrous twist of fate, she met her husband in New Orleans one summer. She recognised his kind, sparkling eyes remembering the young boy who gave his tacos to an old woman on the streets. They too became parents and lived a long and happy life together.

There is no greater lesson in empathy than seeing through the eyes of another. 

***