Crystalline Melodies: One-Shots
Think Good Thoughts
"Just try again." Aria encouraged. "You'll get it. I know you can."
"No!" I cried. "I can't! It's too hard."
"I know Judo is hard, but I have a hunch that someday, it could save your life." She said. No truer words were ever spoken. "And I wouldn't be teaching it to you if I thought you weren't good enough to do it." Aria smiled. "I'm gonna go all scientific on you now. Earlier I learned something about how the brain works. The brain is divided into millions of tiny pathways, each one representing a different thought. You follow?"
I nodded, staring intently as she gestured with her hands to help explain.
"Each time you have a thought, an electrical impulse runs down the corresponding pathway. That impulse runs down the pathway, and erodes at the pathways' sides a bit. Each time you have that thought, the pathway widens, and you become more likely to send an impulse down that pathway. You think it more and more, and the frequency increases at an exponential rate--sorry, you're eight." She clears her throat. "What I mean is that the more you think it, the more likely you are to think it again. This goes for both good AND bad thoughts. You see?"
I nodded again.
"So, if you think to yourself 'I can do it' over and over, you will begin to think it without even trying, and slowly convince yourself of it. It's sort of psychosomatic--" She face-palmed. "Sorry! But you get my point. Just be positive."
"No!" I shook my head violently. "I don't care about all that stuff. I just want to be done. I'm not good enough for this."
Aria's expression hardened. "Don't you DARE tell yourself that." She kneeled down next to me and cupped my chin in her hands, the way adults normally do. I remember I always saw her as my second mother. It was moments like those that simply amplified those feelings.
"Quit acting like the little girl you let people think you are and more like the warrior -- the rebel, the fighter -- I know is in there somewhere."
If you take the words out of context, that sort of sounds harsh, I guess. But the look in her eyes told me they were borne out of nothing but love and her own confidence in me. The jagged edges of them were -- in a way -- silver-lined, and they filled me with a sudden hope that made me feel as if I could do anything I set my mind to.
I stood up and sniffled the last of my tears away. "Alright…I guess I can try one more time."
"No!" I cried. "I can't! It's too hard."
"I know Judo is hard, but I have a hunch that someday, it could save your life." She said. No truer words were ever spoken. "And I wouldn't be teaching it to you if I thought you weren't good enough to do it." Aria smiled. "I'm gonna go all scientific on you now. Earlier I learned something about how the brain works. The brain is divided into millions of tiny pathways, each one representing a different thought. You follow?"
I nodded, staring intently as she gestured with her hands to help explain.
"Each time you have a thought, an electrical impulse runs down the corresponding pathway. That impulse runs down the pathway, and erodes at the pathways' sides a bit. Each time you have that thought, the pathway widens, and you become more likely to send an impulse down that pathway. You think it more and more, and the frequency increases at an exponential rate--sorry, you're eight." She clears her throat. "What I mean is that the more you think it, the more likely you are to think it again. This goes for both good AND bad thoughts. You see?"
I nodded again.
"So, if you think to yourself 'I can do it' over and over, you will begin to think it without even trying, and slowly convince yourself of it. It's sort of psychosomatic--" She face-palmed. "Sorry! But you get my point. Just be positive."
"No!" I shook my head violently. "I don't care about all that stuff. I just want to be done. I'm not good enough for this."
Aria's expression hardened. "Don't you DARE tell yourself that." She kneeled down next to me and cupped my chin in her hands, the way adults normally do. I remember I always saw her as my second mother. It was moments like those that simply amplified those feelings.
"Quit acting like the little girl you let people think you are and more like the warrior -- the rebel, the fighter -- I know is in there somewhere."
If you take the words out of context, that sort of sounds harsh, I guess. But the look in her eyes told me they were borne out of nothing but love and her own confidence in me. The jagged edges of them were -- in a way -- silver-lined, and they filled me with a sudden hope that made me feel as if I could do anything I set my mind to.
I stood up and sniffled the last of my tears away. "Alright…I guess I can try one more time."
Notes
Oh, the Aria-Krystal relationship is just SO sweet, IMO. I'm struggling a lot with writer's block, and I thought writing a random, unrelated, no strings attached bonding moment between them would help. I think it did. Also, I put it in italics because I think of it more of a memory excerpt than an actual scene excerpt.Thoughts are appreciated! =)
Central story here: http://www.percyjacksonfanfiction.com/Story/60667/Crystalline-Melodies/
Oh plenty :)))
11/11/14