Wishes

I was completely blinded by flashes of white lights. “Give her space! Give her space! Let her through!” My bodyguard’s husky voice filled my ears. Although loud and clear, his demands were totally ignored. I could feel the heat from the paparazzi crowding around me, as they desperately tried to get a close shot of my face that they could sell to magazines. I pictured them violently shoving each other to stand closer to me.

Still unable to see, I tightly clung onto my bodyguard’s sweaty hand, hoping that the gravel below was relatively flat. If not, I would surely trip in my five-and-a-half-inch heels. I could imagine the consequence: all over the internet, there would be pictures of me, with ridiculous facial expressions, falling to the ground.

            “Rosie! Just one smile over here! Please!”

            “Rosie! You look so beautiful tonight!”

            “Rosie! Will you be attending the AMAs this year?”

            All these different voices sounded the same to me now. When I first experienced this ridiculous level of attention after landing the main role of the highly anticipated movie, “Up to the Sky,” I comprehended nearly every question thrown at me. I had been extremely flattered by the amount of attention I was given and cooperatively answered as many questions as I could. Two years later, the paparazzi were nothing more than nuisances. I had learned to block out their annoying voices.

My bodyguard pulled me along at a snail’s pace. “Come on, guys! Back off!” He was shouting to no avail. I felt just as bad for him as I did for myself.

            When I was finally able to see for a split second out of the corner of my eye, I saw a girl with pigtails about five feet to my left. She must have been around six years old. She was staring at me, and her jaw dropped a little so that her mouth formed a small “o”; she had to be one of my millions of fans. Just before the next flash took my vision away again, I recognized the look of envy in the little girl’s large brown eyes as she peered up at me.

            When the cameras began clicking again, I closed my eyes and cursed silently. After another few steps, I finally reached the limousine waiting to drive me home. I quickly climbed onto the back seat and slammed the door behind me. The paparazzi aggressively pressed their cameras against the black tinted windows and continued to take pictures.

I would likely be forced to stay put for another minute or so. I looked out the back window and spotted the little girl skipping away into the darkness. She looked so careless and free. Even after she disappeared, I kept gazing at where she had just been. I imagined that the envy in my blue eyes was a mirror reflection of the envy I had seen in the little girl’s eyes not too long ago.