Summer looked at the machine in front of her. The alien standing next to it almost looked human, if not for its head, arms and legs…and skin. Okay, it was bipedal and that at least seemed more human than the rest of the aliens helping the kids around her. Honestly, she was struggling to not give into the itch to run away. Some of the other creatures around her were just disturbing. She didn’t want to be unaccepting, but she also felt the same way she did when someone showed her a zoomed in picture of a bug. She had to keep fighting back squirms of discomfort.

The alien gestured for her to approach the machine. It was a chair with a head covering that would be brought down over her eyes once she sat down. It was almost exactly what she thought an alien, high tech VR machine would look like. Several other kids had already used the machines before her, so she knew it was safe. Still, she felt hesitant as she stepped forward.

She thought herself to be brave and willing to face anything. Now that was being put to the test. To her credit, she still stepped forward, but the shakiness in her limbs and shuffling of her feet betrayed her cowardice.

She made it to the machine and sat in the chair. The alien offered what Summer guessed was a smile and lowered the head cover. She felt something touch near the back of her head and there was a sudden shock.

The next moment she was in a completely white space. At first it was quite relaxing, like being in a bright float tank. Then she realized she didn't have a body. When she tried to bring a hand in front of her face, nothing was there to respond.

Just as panic began to grip her the scenery changed. Soon she was in a very familiar home. Her home back in Phoenix.

Things formed around her as if constructed by her memories. Each area she glanced at suddenly went from indiscreet to well defined. Everything around her continued to change until her home was completely formed.

Suddenly there was a nose in front of her eyes and a little girl standing in the hallway before her. Everything stood frozen for a moment. Then, as if someone pressed play, everyone began to move. The body she was seeing things through moved without her command, but she could experience its movements as if they were her own. Like a surreal in and out of body experience.

“Moooom,” the girl said to her in a whiney voice. “I want to go to the library! You said we could go!”

Feeling her body speak without her trying to was a strange experience. “I know I did, Summer, but the library is closed today. I just forgot.”

Summer realized that she was seeing an old argument from her mom's perspective instead of her own. The little girl in front of her was herself.

“But mom,” little Summer complained. “You said we could go. I want to go to the library, RIGHT NOW!”

Summer could read the thoughts and emotions from being inside her mom's body. She felt the frustration at the ridiculousness of the argument. She felt the guilt at having promised the wrong thing to her daughter.

“It's closed, dear, I'm sorry.”

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“How do you know it's closed? Let's drive there and find out.”

“It's closed every Sunday and I just forgot about that.”

“Well, maybe you forgot that it's actually open instead.” Little Summer argued as though that logic was sound.

Her Mom was far more patient than she would have been. She wanted to tell her younger self to just suck it up and deal with it. However, her Mom decided to give little Summer a bit more grace.

“You know what, maybe I did. How about we drive to the library and see for ourselves,” her Mom said.

Katy, her mom, knew what would happen, but still wanted to give closure to her daughter. Summer remembered this argument now. She knew what the result would be.

She stayed in her mom's body as they drove to the library and walked up to the library door. Summer relived the memories and different perspectives all at once.

Little Summer was sad and embarrassed. She remembered feeling slighted, like the world had turned against her. She had really been looking forward to the library that day.

She also now saw it from her Mom's perspective. Her Mom hadn't done anything wrong. In fact she made the situation the best it possibly could have been for little Summer.

Summer remembered this being a moment where she learned that you couldn't always trust your parents. She learned that not everything goes your way just because you asked for it loud enough. It was depressing despite it being reality.

However, seeing it from her mom's perspective helped her feel less slighted. It helped her recognize that it was just a small moment that wasn't even that important. And she was able to let go of some resentment that she didn't know she held.

Was that what the training was supposed to do for her? Help her to see things from different perspectives and release frustration and resentment that were built up deep inside her?

She had hoped she'd be trained in combat or something, but maybe this was exactly what she needed to be a better fit for getting a spore.

As though that thought was the trigger needed to end the simulation, she was suddenly brought back into the white room. A soft and clear feminine voice resonated within the space.

“What did you learn?”

Summer thought about the question for a moment, still reliving the memory. Finally she decided on her answer.

“People make mistakes, it's normal, but it can cause distrust. However, one mistake does not have to lead to another. I should not resent someone because they made one mistake. I should instead try to see how they respond to the small mistakes they make.”

The voice continued as though finishing her thought for her. “And trust should be built on how people try to right their wrongs, not on whether or not they do wrong in the first place. Everyone does wrong, Summer, but not everyone tries to right their wrongs.”

Summer jumped back in. “So having a little grace and understanding goes a long way toward not being so angry.”

The admission of her anger seemed to allow the emotion to surface. Anger flooded her from all the times she had been slighted. Memories of small moments flashed before her with a clarity that wasn't normally there. The anger flashed for each moment.

And then, for each moment, the anger was released.

Feelings of relief and joy flooded her as each bout of anger was released. It was as though those emotions were waiting for the space to empty so they could fill them up.

Summer still didn't have a body in this white space, but if she did, she would be smiling from ear to ear. The joy was just that strong.

The voice spoke again, “how about we move on to another memory.”

Summer felt nervous. The amount of change that was caused by the last experience was vast and scary. Even if it was ultimately good for her. If she could have gulped she would have.

“Okay, I… I think I'm ready.”