Be Brave, Little One.

2015 © Dana Valencia

To the shy girl seated across from me here in the café, who would sometimes stare down at something—like she is staring at the coffee stain on the table now—as if she were used to only gazing on horizons a little wider than her arm’s embrace:

I want to tell you—assure you—you can look off into the distance, gaze on horizons much broader than your little personal space. Be brave, little one.