Chapter Text
When I was a small child, I loved bubbles. They were peaceful to watch as I used to sit on the grass of the beautiful mountains in the Frottrica alone, admiring the little sparkly orbs floating around.
Even as a small child my mind raced to points where I hyperventilated and cried in terror for the loss of control in my mind. So much was expected of me even when I was the young age of 6, after all there’s a difference between having people love you and having people who love the idea of you.
Sitting on the grass alone, watching little sparkly bubbles float into the mountains ahead, was the only comfort and thing that could calm my mind. It wasn't until I was older that I stopped playing with bubbles outside to quiet the thoughts that poured inside my head. But back then, I could be just me, just be little Glinda, and a kid with no expectations for once.
My mother and father wouldn’t mind, because I’d just be out of their hair. They were too busy to even notice who I was. Nor the fact that I constantly struggled to breathe and that something was wrong with me.
People never truly cared about who I was, but who I presented myself to be. It made me care too much. I started caring about how they perceived me, and I stopped sitting in the grass, I stopped blowing little bubbles. I forced myself to become Galinda.
But during the night when I was finally alone and no one was watching, I’d sometimes pull a little jar of bubbles I had out and blow them out my window. Even as a teenager and young adult in Shiz I’d still blow them in the night and watch them float away.
With bubbles I was me. No one knew about my bubbles, except me.
Then Elphie came into my life.
She almost never slept. When we were in our loathing stage she’d pretend to sleep because she knew I was waiting for the time when no one watched. She didn’t tell me until we made up with our dance. I was terrified at first, my thoughts picked up, my heart started racing, and I couldn’t breathe. It might have been a silly little secret but if she knew who I was then who else could know?
No one else knew, she held me albeit awkwardly at first and helped me through the breathing. She saw me and for once it isn't only bubbles that I could be me with. Then she stood up and grabbed the jar of bubbles from out under my bed where I hid them. She handed me them and told me “While everything isn’t going to be ok because life isn’t fair. You’re going to be alright Glin because you got an impossible amount of Mental Stamina. Don’t lose important things like these that you do because this might be all that holds you together if you keep pretending you're something you're not.” I felt so seen, I hugged her tightly and of course she stiffened at first in Elphie fashion but melted into the hug eventually. I let go with a giggle and we sat in silence for the rest of the night side by side sitting on my bed next to the window watching the bubbles I blew fly out the window and into the starry night.
It became a tradition we’d do over the weekends while we slowly fell for one another, months after that interaction while blowing bubbles we had our first kiss. After that we’d start having nightly romantic picnics watching stars and bubbles. Most of those nights were so quiet, we’d whisper, giggle, smile and watch. Elphie knew I preferred quieter environments because all the noise from the day before the night had always overwhelmed my anxiety driven mind.
So many of the important moments with Elphie included bubbles, because with her I could breathe and be me.
When I watched bubbles I could breathe.