A group of us were sitting in a workshop summarizing our writing. Genres were being blended, defied, invented and adhered to. One woman sitting about ten seats down, spoke of the memoir she was working on. As a teenager, after her father’s death, she and her mom moved to a new neighborhood. There she suffered the cruelty and bullying of her peers.

Because of the seating arrangement I was able to hear, but not fully see her.  Afterwards, when the workshop was over, she stood up and passed by. I was struck by her beauty. She stood about 5’10”, with thick auburn hair, a stunning face and a strong, graceful body.

The next day, we happened to meet on a path by the dormitories. I said, “You are exquisite. It must be comforting to see yourself now, and know you triumphed.” Her eyes quickly moistened. “Thank you, thank you so much for saying that. It hasn’t been easy.” I added, “Well, you definitely got the last laugh.” She smiled and thanked me again. We introduced ourselves.

She approached me the next day. Gave me a hug with tears in her eyes and said, “Your words meant so much to me.”