That Little Girl and The Staircase

Long, long ago, there was a little girl who collects people's emotions and gifts in a bag. She was a girl adored by many. She has a long hair that was loved by her family. She has a brain that was admired at her school. She has a friendly vibe that makes people at ease. Whenever she goes out and a person sees her, they will say, "Ah! She was that little girl!"


One day, she remembered a story about the long stairs. Then, she thought of going on an adventure. "It would be fun!" she said. She wore a little cute dress, let her hair down, put on her favorite shoes, and grabbed her bag with gifts and emotions in it.


She said her goodbyes to her family as she walked out the door.Her family looked at her with great pride and said, "We are very proud of you." The little girl smiled, took the emotion she received from her family, and put it in her bag. She then went on her way.


Upon arriving at the long staircase, she saw a golden door. It was a relief that it was not locked. She opened the door and was amazed by the really long stairs. But she smiled and said, "Let's start and keep going." She believed that as long as she kept going, she would definitely reach the end of the long, long staircase.


She was humming, trotting, and even jumping along the way! And on the 50th step, she met a group of children. The children saw her and called her. The little girl stopped and went to them. She then asked, "What are you doing?" One of the children answered, "We are playing hopscotch! Come on and join us." The little girl looked at the many steps ahead of her and replied, "I'm sorry, I can't. I still have to finish these long stairs." The children was disappointed and instead gave her a chalk if she would want to play along her way. The little girl accepted the chalk and put it in her bag.


She continued on her adventure to see the end of the stairs while humming, trotting, and even jumping. Once in a while, she would even read some picture books. But on the 307th step, she saw a young woman sitting on a bench under a huge tree drinking tea. The little girl stopped again when she saw the young woman. The woman said to her, "Hello, little girl. Want to join me as I take a rest here in the shade of the tree?" The little girl smiled, but she realized that there were still many steps ahead. So she replied, "I wish I could join you, but the end is still far." The woman was disappointed and gave her a bag of tea and a thermostat bottle instead. The little girl accepted both of the gifts.


She kept on going while humming, trotting, and jumping. On the 783rd step, she saw a group of people around her age. She stopped again to meet them. One of them said, "Hey! We are having a talk and a picnic here. Want to join us?" The little girl smiled but saw that there were still so many steps to the staircase. She replied, "I can't. I have to keep going to finish these long stairs." The group of people admired her determination and cheered for her. The little girl accepted their feelings and put them in her bag.


She then went on her way again, feeling a little tired. "I have to keep going," she keeps saying. But alas! On the 1,247th step, there were five doors that led to different ways. One was black with grass on it, the one next to it was green with small flowers, the one in the middle was blue with clouds, the one next to it was yellow with suns, and the last one was white with fruits on it.The little girl got confused about which door to choose. Luckily, there was a man reading a map. She approached him and asked, "Hey! Do you know which door certainly leads to the end of this staircase?" The man looked at her and replied, "No one knows which way will lead to this staircase's end but you." The little girl just got more confused. The man talked again and this time asked her, "I will go around the world and visit so many places. Do you want to come with me?" The girl was a little bit tired of the stairs but still politely refused the man's offer. The man then gave her his map in case she decided to travel the world.


She thought that it won't matter which door she chooses because as long as she keeps on going she would definitely see the end of the stair. The little girl chose the middle door with the little suns in it and went inside. She saw a lot of steps and a long, long staircase once more.She just had a deep breath and kept on going.


On the 1,543rd step, she met a beggar. The beggar said, "Need help?" The little girl thought that the beggar was asking for help, so she replied, "Sure, how can I help you?" The beggar shook his head and said, "No, I was asking if you needed help. You look tired and sad." The little girl was shocked. She replied, "No way can I be sad? I'm going on an adventure. And adventures are fun!" The beggar spoke again, this time with pity, "Your eyes do look sad and tired." The little girl hesitated to accept the beggar's feelings, but still accepted them and put them in her bag.


She continued on her way while walking very tiredly. She said, "I must keep on going no matter what. I've come a very, very long way now." The little girl keeps on going and going even though she knows she is already very tired. While on her way, she keeps on having second thoughts, but she still keeps on going and going.


On the 2,769th step, she got her head down and was shocked by an old lady's shout. "Unbelievable!!! You must have been so tired." The little girl looked at the old lady and said, with a bit of hesitation, "I am tired, but I can still keep on going." The old lady asked, "How can you say that when you look so tired? Look at your bag, it's so big!" The little girl looked at her bag and was shocked that it had become really big. No wonder it was so heavy. The little girl said, "Well, these are the gifts and emotions I received from the people. I can't just leave it." The old woman slowly walked towards her and grabbed her bag! The little girl was shocked. The old lady then ran off, holding her bag. "Give it back!" the little girl said. But she was so tired that she couldn't outrun the old lady. The little girl was even more surprised when the old lady opened her bag and threw out the things in it. The little girl got mad when the old lady even threw out her entire bag. She asked angrily, "Why did you do that?!" But the old lady was a mischief and even run faster!


The little girl chased the old lady who was now laughing at her. She becomes more mad and also faster because she really wants to catch the old lady. The little girl was now even laughing with the old lady! They run and run and run. But the little girl suddenly stopped because of what she saw.


The little girl said, "Sooo beautiful!" The old lady also stopped running and sat on a bench nearby. The little girl thought, "This must be the end of the stairs." What the little girl saw was a field of grass with little flowers growing in it. The flowers are all different in color. The sky looks reddish and the sun is going to set anytime soon. The breeze seems cold yet warm. There was also a big tree beside the bench where the old lady was sitting happily. There was even a picnic mat with picnic baskets full of fruits and snacks!


The little girl sat on the picnic mat. While looking at the sky and everything around her, she said, "I thought my adventure would be full of fun. But I was wrong. It was repetitive and tiring." The old lady heard the little girl and joined her on the picnic mat. The old lady spoke too and said, "Maybe you could've stopped for a little while." The little girl replied, "I thought I should just keep going and going. I want to see the end of the staircase so much." The old lady replied, "It is good to have a set destination for where you want to go. However, that does not mean that you can't take a little detour."


The little girl nodded in response and remembered that the old lady threw away all of the things and emotions she had received. So she asked, "But why did you throw away my things and even my bag?" The old lady looked at her and answered, "Because it looks so heavy that you need to let it go!"


The sun was about to set now and the little girl asked the old lady again, "Why did you do all of that? Is it because I looked so tired and sad?" The old lady leaned on her and said, "I just want to fulfill the little girl in me." The old lady and the little girl then smiled, and they both disappeared with the wind as soon as the sun set.