Ten years ago...

Mindy absently swings on the swing set at her school playground. Watching the other students play, she huffs in annoyance. After a few minutes, she gets off the swing and begins to silently cross the playground. She makes it to the grassy field where most of the girls are gathered and smiles slightly. One of the girls spots her and waves Mindy over.

"You can be Hawaii."

Mindy raises an eyebrow in confusion and the girl elaborates. "Everyone's a princess from the books we've been reading. Sarah is cleopatra, Ashley is that other princess, Mary is France, and I'm the queen."

Mindy frowns. "Aren't there any others?"

"All taken."

The girl smiles and claps. "All the vice princess must carry the real princess piggy back." She points to Mindy. "Since you're smallest, you can carry me."

"Why can't the boys carry us?"

Another girl chimes in. "We told them if they spit in the dirt, they would make a pool to play in. They've been running to the water fountain for, like an hour."

Mindy sighs. "Who's gonna carry me?"

"Nobody. You're not a real princess."

Mindy crosses her arms. "You just told me I was."

The girl narrows her eyes. "Don't argue with your queen."

"If we're from two different countries, how are you my queen?"

"That's it! Off with her head!"

Another girl chimes in. "That's from a movie."

"Do you want to be next?"

The other girl looks down. "No your highness."

The girl smirks and points at two other girls. "Hold down the impostor."

The two girls run over and hold Mindy in place. The first girl walks over and lightly taps Mindy on the back of the neck. Mindy cries out.

"You read the book with my princess last week!"

The girl pauses before patting her on the head. "Then...on with your head!"

Mindy smiles and stands, one of the girls crouches down. "Hop on!"

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you..."

"I'm almost two of you. How much do you weigh?"

Mindy awkwardly scratches her head. "Sixty."

The girl raises an eyebrow. "That's it? Hop on."

Mindy looks back at the other girls who nod in encouragement. After a minute of uncertainty, Mindy climbs on and the other girl begins carrying her around. Shortly after the other girls begin doing the same. A few minutes pass before a teacher runs over in concern. The teacher grabs Mindy and pulls her off the other girls back.

She looks down at Mindy in relief. "Don't do that again. Understand? You could hurt yourself. With your...condition, you can't take risks like that! What if you fell off?"

Mindy looks at the teacher in annoyance and embarrassment. "Then I'd fall...one foot and get a bruise."

"What if you hit your stomach? What if started losing more blood? Go stay on the swing where I can watch you."

The teacher then leads Mindy back across the playground, to the swings.

...present day...

Mindy walks into the kitchen to find David sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of apple juice. She raises an eyebrow at his drink and David sighs before explaining.

"It was the strongest drink in the house."

Mindy nods and walks over to the table, she takes a seat beside David. "We didn't have to leave..."

David runs a hand through his hair. "I flipped out back there, I know. I just wish she wouldn't lie to get out of everything. If she was scared, why didn't she just say so? If we had stayed, she would've thrown a fit."

Mindy gently places her hand on one of David's. He looks up from his drink and meets her eyes. Mindy whispers softly. "I don't think she was lying."

David jerks his hand away. "And, what? A ghost hugged her or something?!"

"Something."

David's expression softens and he rests his hand on Mindy's shoulder. "I'm sorry. It's just...this isn't the first time she's done something like this. Back home when...IT was happening, she kept making up stories. Whenever I'd ask about where she heard such horrible things, she'd lie and say her imaginary friend told her. If it weren't for her lies, I could've helped her sooner."

"That was over a year ago...you need to take a breath and relax. She's a kid, this is normal for her age."

David takes a deep breath and visibly relaxes his shoulders. "Yeah. You're probably right. I should go talk to her."

...

David walks into the living room to find Mindy watching tv and eating something green on a plate. She takes another bite and closes her eyes in bliss.

"Should I leave you alone? It looks like you're having an experience with...whatever that is."

Mindy opens her eyes and shrugs. "You can if you want. I once took an hour to eat a cookie." She points to her plate. "It's seaweed."

David hesitantly walks over and takes a seat beside Mindy. "Okay...so I talked to Elizabeth. She's calmed down a bit. At least you got to go out on the water again. So, I was wondering...if you love the water so much, why'd you go so long without going swimming or something? I didn't want to bring this up in front of Elizabeth, but when we first met you acted like you haven't swam in years. What's going on?"

Mindy freezes before looking down and answering. "I just spent a chunk of my life avoiding water. I wasn't allowed to swim, shower, or get too wet. I used to be sick, but all that matters is that now I'm healthy and happy."

David smiles softly and pulls Mindy into a kiss. When he pulls away, he gently caresses her cheek. "I'm happy too...are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?"

"Maybe one day."

David narrows his eyes. "I mean it. If you did something I have a right to know. This mystery girl routine is starting to get old."

Mindy pulls away. "I'm sorry. I just had some serous family issues before I left home."

"I told you about my family, I don't care what it is, I won't judge you."

Mindy runs a hand through her hair. "Why are you bringing all this up, now?"

David leans back. "I've been thinking about this for a while now. Why didn't you tell me about what happened last week? You nearly gave Elizabeth a heart attack."

"It wasn't anything. I was just a little paranoid."

"How can I believe you? I didn't know you were sick as a kid until a few minutes ago!"

Mindy huffs in annoyance. "You want the truth?! I've had a really hard life. I had to leave home a few years ago. I met you and for the first time in my life I felt real hope for my future. I spent most of my life in agony. I get better, I get sick. Up and down. Surgery and recovery. I'm sorry but now that I'm better for good I'd like to forget what happened."

David suddenly pulls Mindy into a hug. "Was that so hard?"

"Yes."