An elderly woman and a little girl sat across from each other in the musty boarding area at Laguardia airport. The elderly woman was tall and lean, with grey hair pulled back into a bun so tight it almost smoothed out the many wrinkles lining her forehead. She wore a grey cotton turtle neck that completely absorbed her neck, and a pair of grey trousers roughly two shades darker than her grey sneakers; the only part of her outfit that did not look new or freshly cleaned and pressed. The woman also wore a grey expression as she read her book, holding it up below her chin and moving only her cloudy blue eyes back and forth across the dry beigh pages with small black print. She was completely still as she read, breaking her stillness only to lick the tip of her finger in order to turn the pages of her rather boring book. This was no easy task, as the pages were stiff and the spine of the book was as tightly wound as the woman herself. When the woman took a break from her book and glanced up, she saw the little girl sitting across from her. The girl was a normal height and weight for an 8 year old, however as the woman stared at her she thought to herself about how short and chubby she was. What a spoiled little girl. I’m sure her parents feed her nothing but sugar. The woman had never liked children, and didn’t have any of her own.

The little girl sat innocently on a boarding area chair- or rather she lounged in it- for she laid on top of her bent legs while reclining against the cold metal arm of the chair. This was an interesting pose only achievable by a person of her age, not because of superior flexibility but because any normal adult would be too self conscious and self-important to sit in such a manner, however comfortable it may be. The little girl fiddled with a loose string on her knitted green sweater that she continuously wrapped and unwrapped around her index finger. The girl had light brown wavy hair that barely surpassed her chin. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, which were pierced with a pair of bright pink star earrings. The girl’s luggage, which was black and fairly large, was almost entirely covered in shiny dinosaur stickers. Some of the stickers were partially scraped off, reduced to only a thin white piece of material still stuck onto the luggage. From looking at it anyone could assume that the little girl had taken over a parent’s suitcase with multiple sheets of dinosaur stickers, and after a failed attempt to remove them, the parent gave in and turned the suitcase over to the little girl. After thoroughly observing and judging the girl (observing and judging being two of her favorite past times), the woman let out a yawn and reached down for her now-cold coffee that she had placed on the carpeted floor. She sat back upright, took a long sip, and after yawning once again promptly realized that the little girl was gone.

The little girl wandered excitedly down the lane of boutiquess, newsstands and duty-free designer stores. Her brown eyes surveyed each store for things that might interest her or for a potential snack, as the flight was boarding in 5 minutes and she wasn’t sure she would like the food they served on the plane. The little girl had seen the flash drives sold at many tech store she passed littered around her father’s desk at home, yet knew not what they were for or why people needed them. She cringed looking at the Starbucks, remembering the time she unwisely stole a sip of her aunt’s coffee, and then insisted on eating a cookie immediately after to get the bitter taste out of her mouth. Then suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye that interested her greatly.
From the next store over, the elderly woman stared at the little girl standing in front of a display of stuffed animals. After she had realized that the little girl had left her seat she went to find her, although not being sure what compelled her to do so. It was probably a mixture of boredom and curiosity. Getting a little closer with out trying to seem obvious, the woman now saw that the girl was fixated on a small toy rabbit. It was a light orange color with floppy ears and looked more realistic than any other of the stuffed animals. The girl stared at it with an incredible intensity that the woman had not expected from someone of her age. She looked at that rabbit not like it was something that she wanted, but something that she needed. Something comforting and fulfilling, even if it was a silly toy rabbit. The woman tried to think of the last thing she had felt that way about. Nothing came to mind.