"Excuse me?" Sara's eyes had watered to the point where everything had become a soft blur in the soft moonlight and distant street lamps.

  "I asked you why you were crying. With an outfit like that, a woman should be out having a good time."

  The blur had sharpened itself into a small blonde in a bizarrely colored shirt.

  "Bad date, I guess." Sara sniffed and looked down. As she rubbed her eyes she saw that the other woman had a gold ring around one of her toes. It seemed to glisten even though there wasn't any light shining directly on it. She was unable to take her eyes off it.

  "Do you like it? I've always liked plain bands so much more than those frilly things jewelers are trying to sell nowadays."

  "Where did you get it."

  The blonde let a few seconds go by as she smiled.

  "An old flame gave it to me a long time ago. It's one of the few things I always try to keep around." The shirt had clarified itself into a Hawaiian pattern tucked into a pair of shorts. The pair of sandals that she wore were new but dirty from walking in the mud and rain. "Do you mind if I share you're shade?"

  "I guess not. Sit down, please. I'm ... uh, I'm Sara."

  "Hi Sara, my name is..."

-     -     -

  Sara paused.

  "No wait, that's not right. She didn't tell me her name."

  "She didn't tell you her name? Curiouser and curiouser, I guess I should be glad that you made it home at all."

  "Do you want to hear this story or not?"

  "I guess I do. After all, it's not always my ear that you end up crying into; sometime it just makes me jealous."

  "All right, so where was I? Oh yeah..."

-     -     -

  "Sit down, please. I'm ... uh, I'm Sara."

     (You said that already.)

     (I know that, I'm just backtracking a little to get things right.)

     (Oh.)

  "Pleased to meet you Sara."

  The blonde took a few steps toward her and sat down. Sara was a little disappointed not hearing a name in return, but it quickly faded and she soon forgot about it.

  "I love the rain don't you."

  "I could do without it tonight."

  "Not me, it's a silent film of melting miracle play."

  Sara raised an eyebrow.

  "It's what?"

  "Oh, nothing. Just something I heard in a song. So, bad date huh? I've had my share of those and they never fail to get you down."

  "This one was no exception." Sara wiped the last tear out of her eyes and leaned back on her hands.

  "So what went wrong, it couldn't have been the dress."

  "This time it was mostly him, the guy was a yutz. I got so sick of him that I left him at the restaurant."

  "This time? There have been others?"

  "Well, this one was the blind date from hell, but usually all of my other dates ended up another way." Sara looked down again, this time in self-loathing.

  "How?"

  "Isn't it obvious?" She flailed her hands outward, surprising herself; but the blonde didn't quiver. "I'm not even five feet tall, as soon as men realize that I won't seem any taller as the night goes on they end the date right then and there."

  "Oh, being small isn't all that bad."

  "You're not as short as I am. Still, you must have a few horror stories of you're own to share."

-     -     -

  Sara paused again. Something was dancing on the verge of her subconscious and wouldn't bring itself into the light.

  "Sara?" Stephanie looked up from her third cup of coffee. This one was a Brazilian flavor.

     ('...you must have a few horror stories of your own to share.' The blonde seemed amused at Sara's words.)

  "Sara?"

     ('Actually, I've never really had to worry about that before.' She looked up to see a hurt look on Sara's face. She hadn't meant to be insensitive and mentally berated herself for sounding as such. She waved her hand lightly in front of Sara's face and smiled again. 'Yeah, I understand how you feel...')

  "HEY!" Stephanie banged on the table and Sara snapped back to the present. She wrinkled her nose in embarrassment.

  "Sorry Steph, I guess I wandered off a bit there. So anyway..."

-     -     -

  "...you must have a few horror stories of your own to share."

  "Yeah, I understand how you feel. Love can be such a cruel joke sometimes."

  Sara shook her head; she felt a little dizzy, but smiled anyway.

  "It's not easy being small. Sometimes it means that you have to work a little harder to be noticed. But it doesn't mean that people will end up loving you any differently ... or any less."

  "Bullshit. My whole life things have been better for those with that extra foot," Sara's eyes widened in mock emphasis, "and women who tower like supermodels can get anyone to do whatever they please. You don't have to work a little harder to get noticed, you have to shoot somebody."

  The blonde gave Sara a penetrating look that seemed to sear it's way into her soul. She then smiled and crossed her legs in front of her.

  "So what are you saying? Do you really hate being so small."

  "Yes! I hate it when people keep telling me, 'oh you're so cute,' or, 'well big things come in small packages.' It's all a bunch of semi-sympathetic crap! No one really cares, they're just glad they don't have to stand on their tip-toes to look over a counter like 'poor little ol' Sara.'" Sara was so infuriated with the world that she didn't see that the blonde was staring at her amused. When she did, she became further enraged.

  "What the hell are staring at?"

  "You have really gorgeous eyes, you know that?"

-     -     -

  "All right, time out." Stephanie put her mug down. "She said what?"

  "That I had gorgeous eyes."

  Stephanie laughed merrily as people from other tables glanced over in curiosity.

  "It's not that funny."

  "She said that? What a weirdo!"

  "Well, say what you will. But I was so angry and after she said that I couldn't help but smile again."

-     -     -

  It was so quiet one could hear individual drops falling on the green leaves all around the two women as they sat on the grass. One of them twirled her blonde hair between two fingers as she looked into the other's eyes and counted those drops. A smile began to creep on the other one's face.

  "What did you say?"

  "You're eyes, they're beautiful. They look like a kaleidoscope focusing on a piece of dark amber."

  Sara giggled softly and then laughed out loud as she looked down.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break your train of thought or embarrass you."

  "No ... I mean thank you," she looked back up, "I guess I was bitching a little too much."

  "So what is it? What do you want."

  "I don't know. No, that's a lie. I wish I was taller, big enough to put those damn supermodels that men keep drooling over to shame. Do you know what I mean."

  "Yes, yes I do." The blonde's answer was so straightforward that it was rather unnerving. But her smile was so warm that the feeling went away rather quickly. "Well, Sara, it looks as though the rain is starting to let up."

  Sara looked around and saw that the rain had, in fact, started to let up. She stood up and started to brush herself off. The blonde also rose to her feet and purposely placed herself a little down the slope they were on to be able to look straight into Sara's eyes.

  "Listen, I know things seem bad, especially after such a crummy date. But the world has a way of taking care of those who are dissatisfied and truly deserve something better. I'm pretty sure you're on that list."

  The blonde extended her hand and looked at Sara expectingly. Her eyes began to emit that eerie quality that her words had done such a short while ago. But that smile was still there. Sara took the hand and shook it with gratitude.

  "Thanks for listening to me rant and rave. I really needed someone to talk with. I hope you have a safe walk to wherever you're going." Her hand was warm and comforting; firm but not painful. "I hope the world does take notice of me. I'd hate for this to be all that life has to offer."

  "It was my pleasure." The blonde's smile faded a little bit and she leaned in a little closer to Sara. "Just be careful with what it throws at you, don't misjudge a good thing for a bad one and vice-versa. Things always happen for a reason and they always turn out for the best if you're a good-spirited ... individual."

  With that the blonde let go and strolled away into the cold night.

  Sara watched her leave, small clouds of frost steamed around her face as her breath caught the cool air. But Sara didn't notice the chill, then or during the entire walk back to her apartment. Her hand was tingling as though it had waken up from a long sleep, yet she didn't notice that either. Even though she had left her jacket at the restaurant, she felt quite warm and comfortable as she found her way to the city sidewalk that would take her home.

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