Young Love

Carol ran her fingers through Sophia's chin-length blond hair, trying to undo all the tangles from her daughter's night of fitful sleep, before sliding the girl's light blue headband into its proper place on Sophia's head.

"There you go, dear. You're get prettier every day." Carol gave her daughter a tight smile, trying to make her facial expression warm and loving. Sophia tried to return the smile, but it didn't fit properly on her face, and her baby blue eyes stayed downcast.

Sophia's shirt was supposed to be lavender, with multi-colored butterflies flitting around the front, but after weeks of wear and tear it had faded to a dingy, dark-hued periwinkle, and the butterflies looked like large murky dots. The girl's jeans were starting to rip at one knee, and the cuffs barely came down to her ankles. The headband that Carol had placed in Sophia's hair had originally been a lovely, soft shade of blue that matched her eyes, but now it, too, was darker in color, and was smudged with too many weeks worth of dirt that never seemed to fade.

Carol placed her hands gently on Sophia's shoulders, trying to look into her eyes, which were fixated on the ground. "What's wrong, Sophie? Did your father…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought, but Sophia knew what she had meant. She closed her eyes and shook her head, ruffling her hair in the process.

"I just don't see the point of getting up and letting you make me look pretty every day like the world is still the normal place it used to be, mom. Who cares if my hair is straight and tangle free, or if my clothes are clean, or if there's dirt on my face?" A small tear trickled down Sophia's cheek; she wiped it away before it could make its way to her chin.

"Acting like everything is fine is the only hope that someday the world will be right again. If we give up trying to be as normal as possible then we may as well just give up fighting for our lives and let the walkers eat us. Is that how you want to end up: a meal for the geeks?" Carol cupped Sophia's chin, making the girl meet her eyes, the tight-lipped smiled back in place on her face.

Sophia sniffled, her lower lip jutting out slightly. "No."

"I didn't think so." Carol rose to her feet and planted a kiss on Sophia's forehead. "Just remember that you're not the only kid in the apocalypse. You've got Carl to keep you company, and those quiet little Hispanic children. I know those two don't say much, but I'm sure they like you just as much as everyone else does. We're all in this together, kiddo. We've gotta look out for each other." Carol's smile was a bit more genuine now as she smoothed her daughter's hair once more. "Now go get some breakfast in you before your lessons with Lori. You need to keep your strength up." Carol ducked and slipped out of the tent, disappearing to the lake for laundry duty, leaving Sophia standing by herself.

Sophia sighed and picked up Judith, the worn out doll she had managed to save throughout all the havoc and relocations the group had dealt with. She looked the doll over, gently touching the smudges of dirt and grime that covered its face, and rubbing the hem of the doll's torn pink dress between her thumb and forefinger.

"You've been through all of this with me, Judy, and still you smile. If you can make it, I can, too." Sophia's smile grew over her small face, and she hugged the doll with all the love and adoration a ten-year-old girl can only bestow on her imaginary friends. Looking at Sophia's constant hanging-on of the toy, no one could understand why she clutched it like a talisman everywhere she went, but if they heard her reasoning they would see the wisdom of it.

Sophia kept the doll with her because the toy's painted on smile that never waivered gave her hope for a new world, and a brighter tomorrow. Her mother's words mixed with the actual reality of things never helped much, but seeing something as inconsequential as the toy she'd had since early childhood still smiling while covered in filth, wearing a torn dress, facing all the problems that Sophia was facing, made things seem just a little better.

Sophia tucked her prized possession under her arm and headed out into the world to face the day. With Judith at her side she could do anything.