There was once a little girl called Clara. On the outside Clara looked the same as everyone else, but on the inside she felt so very different.

Clara didn’t always know why she felt so very different. When she tried to think about why she felt this way her head started to hurt so she stopped thinking about it. She tried so very hard to pretend to be happy like all of her friends seemed to be.

At school she found it difficult to concentrate on her work and listen to what her teachers said. Clara was always getting told off from her teachers for not paying attention. She didn’t do it on purpose, she just liked to escape into her own dream world.

In her dream world, Clara felt a little bit safer. Things were a little bit happier in her dream world and she often tried to imagine that her dream world could become real. Although she tried so very hard, Clara couldn’t make it happen.

One day, a nice teacher asked Clara if she was ok. Clara knew that she was not ok and she wanted to tell the nice teacher what was wrong. But although she tried so very hard her head hurt too much and she couldn’t find the words to try and talk about what was wrong. So Clara said she was fine and the nice teacher walked away.

As Clara got a little bit older her head started to hurt even when she wasn’t trying to think about why she felt so very different. Clara found it very hard to pretend to be happy when she felt so very sad. She started to remember why she felt so very different and sad. This made Clara feel very scared so she tried to forget all these bad memories. This was not easy for Clara to do.

Lots more nice teachers and some not so nice teachers would ask Clara if she was ok and each time Clara would say she was fine. Clara hoped that if she said she was fine enough times that maybe she would be fine. But Clara was not fine.

Clara started to find it very difficult to eat and to sleep and she always felt so very scared. As Clara got more tired and scared she could not pretend to be happy at all. Some teachers began to realise that Clara was not fine even although she said she was.
These teachers started talking to Clara after her classes. They told Clara that they were very worried about her. Clara was very worried as well. These teachers wanted Clara to talk to them but Clara did not know how to talk.

Clara really wanted to talk to one of these teachers about why she felt so very different and sad. Although she knew she couldn’t talk she thought she could maybe write or draw something to show this teacher why she felt this way. Clara was still very scared about doing this.

Clara began to practise writing and drawing things that might help her teacher understand what was wrong. Clara practised a lot. Then one day, Clara gave her teacher something that she had written. Clara was breaking the silence.

Clara’s teacher told Clara that she thought she was very brave and that she didn’t have to be scared anymore. She told Clara she was going to help her so that she didn’t feel so very different and sad anymore.

Clara realised that she could talk even if she couldn’t say the words aloud. As time passed and Clara talked in whatever way she could, she started to feel not so very different and sad. Clara was sometimes able to pretend that she was happy again. As more time passed, Clara was sometimes happy without having to pretend at all.

Clara was not so very different after all.

Clara was very clever to find a way to tell others what was wrong in her world. She was very brave to take a chance on telling in different ways. Clara's silence can only protect the bad people and not her but it is clearly hard for her to talk.

I think Clara should come and talk to me as well as her teachers, in whatever way she can. The more people she tells about her world, the more people who can put their heads together and help her.

Clara is certainly not so different like you both hsay. Lots of people go through dark times and feel different and alone, its only when they talk to someone like 'laurie' or those nice teachers ( in whatever form they can, be it writing or verbally telling our story) that they realise they are not so different after all.
I hope Clara stays brave and strong. Maybe we'll hear how she gets on.
Take care