Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a girl named Shmritt.

Shmritt was best friends with a boy named Shmadam, and they did everything together.  Shmritt and Shmadam had other friends – lots of friends, really – but they always knew that they were each other’s best friends.  And that was important, because Shmritt and Shmadam were 12, apparently.

Then one day, Shmadam made a new friend.

Shmadam liked this new friend a whole lot.

In fact, sometimes, it seemed like Shmadam liked this new friend even more than he liked Shmritt.  At first this made Shmritt very angry.  She yelled at Shmadam for being a bad friend and tried to give back his super special friend decoder ring.  Shmadam said he was sorry and promised to be nicer to Shmritt – and she let him keep his super special friend decoder ring.

But then Shmritt got sad.

The only thing worse than an angry Shmritt is a sad Shmritt.

Shmritt cried and cried.  Then Schrmitt cried some more.  Then Shmritt’s husband, Mister Shmritt, came home and asked Shmritt why she was so sad.

“Shmadam doesn’t love me anymore,” Shmritt sobbed.

Mister Shmritt put his arm around Shmritt and told her everything would be OK.  He patted her on the back and rocked her back and forth while she cried.  And then Mister Shmritt did something really amazing.

“Of course Shmadam still loves you,” Mister Shmritt said.  “No matter what, you will always be special – because you are special.  And Shmadam knows it.”

And Shmritt was amazed at Mister Shmritt’s powers.

Shmritt tried to explain to Mister Shmritt that he was special, because he wasn’t jealous or angry or afraid of her friendship with Shmadam.  But Mister Shmritt would hear none of it.  He just shook his head and smiled and promised Shmritt that everything would be OK.

Shmritt and Shmadam tried very hard to be friends again, just like they used to be.  They talked and talked and talked, because Shmritt and Shmadam loved to talk more than anything else in the whole world.  Shrmitt thought that maybe everything really would be better from now on.

Then one day, Shmritt and Shmadam took their friend, Shmilly, to the Magical Park for a fun day of waterfalls and rollercoasters.  Shmritt and Shmadam and Shmilly had lots of fun together.  They laughed and screamed and were all very glad to be friends.  Shmritt was glad that she and Shmadam were friends again, and she was also glad that she had Shmilly as a friend.  Everything was perfect.

But then, the very next day, Shmritt’s magical beans that she took every day to make her awesome decided to not make her awesome.  Or something.  Or maybe Shmritt was tired.  Or something.  Or maybe Shmritt felt like things were still just not quite right with Shmadam.  Or something.

Whatever the reason, Shmritt decided that once again she was sad.

Shmritt was very upset and didn’t know who to talk to about it.  She was tired of talking to Shmadam about Shmadam.

She talked to Shmilly.

Shmilly listened while Shmritt talked.  Shmilly listened while Shmritt cried.  Shmilly sat and sat and listened and listened while Shmritt talked and talked and cried and cried.  And then Shmilly did something really amazing.

“It’s OK to feel what you’re feeling,” Shmilly said.  “And you’re not crazy or pathetic.  And I’m not judging you.”

And Shmritt was amazed at Shmilly’s powers.

Shmritt tried to thank Shmilly for being such a good friend.  She told her how much it meant to have someone be there to talk through things with her, without trying to fix anything or make her feel bad about being such a cry baby – even though she was, in fact, being a cry baby.  But Shmilly would hear none of it.  She just shook her head and smiled and promised that everything would be OK.

Later that night, Shmadam showed up at Shmritt’s door to show her that they were still friends.  Very best friends, in fact.  Mister Shmritt smiled and was glad to see his wife happy again.  Shmilly called to say that she needed a friend, and Shmritt and Shmadam took timeout from their personal drama to go and return the friendship that she had so lovingly given earlier.

Everyone laughed and hugged and promised to always be friends forever.

Or at least until they grew up and went to high school.

The End.