Spilled Milk

by K.L. Randis

Mom was leaving us. She was going to die. I leaned on my grandma, traumatized, unable to cry. Grandma looked down at me, for the first time looking old.

I closed my eyes. Years of suppressing, ignoring, and denying had just escaped. Beneath my trembling skin, I felt something deep within my bones that I had never felt before. Serenity.

“Just remember, rain doesn’t seem all that threatening at first, but too much rain can turn into a flood.”

“Professionals don’t know what gives some people a resilient personality,” Dr. Russ said, pacing the classroom. “You can have four people go through something exceptionally traumatic, and one of those people will have a higher resiliency to coping. They won’t turn to drugs or rebel against society, they’ll seek the positive in any given situation. Now the interesting thing is the argument whether resiliency is nature or nurture. Are we born with it, or is it taught to us?”

“These children usually have strong mentors from a young age that they can build their strength on, they have some kind of talent or outlet they use to channel their frustrations or stress, and they’re intelligent.” He tapped the side of his head. “Scientists and psychologists have been studying the phenomena for decades. Just what makes one child so susceptible to crumbling under situations another one simply rises above?”