Cora sat cross-legged on her bed, her fingers tracing the patterns on her quilt. At eight years old, she often felt things more deeply than her friends. "Why do I feel like this?" she wondered aloud, her voice barely a whisper. Her mother, always gentle and understanding, entered the room with a soft smile. Her mother, a nurturing presence with a knack for knowing just what to say, sat beside her.
"You have a gift, my dear," she explained, brushing a strand of hair from Cora's face. "Some people feel the world more strongly, and that’s okay."
Cora stood on the sidelines, watching as her classmates played tag. The laughter echoed in her ears, yet she felt a strange sense of disconnect. Her friend, Lily, noticed her standing alone and approached with a concerned expression. "Why don't you join us, Cora?" she asked, her voice gentle.
"Sometimes it feels too much," Cora replied, hesitating to meet Lily's eyes. "I feel everything, even when it’s not mine to feel."
Cora found solace in the pages of a book about empaths, a term she had heard but never truly understood. As she read, realization dawned on her. "I’m an empath," she whispered to herself, a sense of clarity washing over her. The words on the page described her feelings perfectly, and for the first time, she didn’t feel alone.
"It’s like a superpower," she thought, her heart lightening with each turn of the page.
Cora sat with her family, sharing the discovery she had made about herself. "Being an empath means I can understand others on a deeper level," she explained, her voice filled with newfound confidence.
"And that’s something to be proud of," her mother responded, wrapping an arm around her. "The world needs more people who care as deeply as you do."
Cora walked among the flowers, feeling the world around her with a renewed sense of purpose. She understood that her sensitivity was not a flaw but a strength. As she watched a butterfly alight on a nearby blossom, she realized that her ability to feel so deeply was her greatest gift.
"I can make a difference," she thought, her heart swelling with hope and determination.
Cora stood before her classmates, sharing her journey as an empath. "Being sensitive is not something to be ashamed of," she declared. "It’s what makes me who I am."
Her words resonated with her peers, and as she looked around the room, she felt the connection she had longed for. In that moment, Cora understood that her journey had only just begun, and she was ready to embrace it with open arms.
