Chapter 6

"So, how do I get home?"

"Click your heels three times and say I want to go home."

Lacey looks up at Leo to see if he is serious, but then she giggles and asks, "No, really, how?"

"You can only leave the magical kingdom of Kindness from a place of tenderness and joy."

"Where do we find that?"

"In your heart, babygirl. In your heart." says Leo smiling.

Lacey, Leo, Charlie and Hugs leave the now colorful city once again called Giggles and start heading back into the forest. They follow the winding trail back up from the valley with the full moon shining bright. With stars twinkling and owls hooting, they once again enter the domain of the trees.

Once they start getting deeper into the woods it becomes very dark, and they can barely see the trail to travel on it. It is true that the longer they are in the dark the more their eyes adjust to it, making it a little easier to see, but it is still dark and sometimes creepy.

"Leo."

"Yes, darling girl."

"It is kind of scary out here."

"I know and I understand, but it is necessary for us to teach you your final lesson before you will be able to leave the magical land of Kindness."

"I'm always willing to listen and learn something new."

"I know. That is why you are such a special girl."

"What is the lesson to be learned now?"

"Do you remember earlier we were talking about the world having cycles and people having cycles?"

"Of course." says Lacey, continuing to hold Leo's hand.

"As the world has a daytime and a nighttime, so do people. What I mean by that is a good and kind person is good and kind no matter whether it is day or night. A bully has a shadow on their heart and mind even though it is daylight."

"You mean bullies are bullies usually because they are being made to feel bad about themselves? And then everybody's mind looks for ways to make him or her feel better about themselves. So, if they are not being shown the proper way to express their inner turmoil, that is the inner shadow?"

"Yes! You are really smart, Lacey. I am very proud of you."

"Couldn't that analogy you just used also be made to represent the fact that good people do bad things and yet they are still worthy. Especially once they apologize and don't continue to do it. And bad people still have a worthiness to them once they realize they are behaving wrong and apologize?"

"It could and it does." says Charlie, the black and white cat.

"It is parallels that are the last lesson to be learned," says Hugs, Lacey's talking teddy bear, as he continues to float along with them.

"You see," says Leo. "When we can see parallels, which are similarities, to things we already know and understand, it makes it easier for us to learn something new. Makes it easier to see when something is right or wrong. If a bully was to stop and think about whoever is making them be a bully and how that makes them feel, then it wouldn't be so easy for them to bully other people because they can understand how they feel."

"You mean they have to have compassion for themselves before they can have it for anybody else?"

"Before you can truly love other people you must be able to love yourself." says Charlie. "In order to love yourself, you must be able to see and have other people tell you what the good things are about you."

"So," adds Hugs. "When you are always being put down and made to think less of yourself, it is hard to love yourself. I mean, how are you going to be able to see the good things within yourself when your mirror, who is your immediate family and friends, don't encourage you and praise you for the good aspects that are the best of you. If you're not helped to explore and expand the best things about you, then how are you going to know about them?"