“Wall”, I said, to the tall, stone wall. “Why do you stand there, as you do? Why do you sit so still and never move? Why do you do what you do?”

The wall said nothing. I walked away.

The next day, I returned. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “You are still here. I have left and yet you stayed. Why did you stay? Why didn’t you leave? Have you not anywhere to go?”

The wall said nothing still. I stared at it, then walked away.

The next week, I returned. The wall remained in its place.

“Wall”, I said. “Speak to me! Talk to me! Please!”. The wall said nothing. “I am so lonely, oh wall of stone. I have no one to tell my problems to. Oh please, will you speak to me?”

The wall said nothing. I wanted to leave, but had nowhere to go. Nowhere to be.

“Wall”, I said. “We are the same. You stay here with me, and I must be here with you. But will you not speak to me? I must talk to someone! The girls at school are horrid, cruel. You haven’t a clue what they say about me! No one will talk to me, no one will be with me. I receive no more than nasty glares as I walk down the hallway. In classrooms no one dares to partner up with me. I sit alone at lunch, and ride home alone on a bus seat made for two. Oh wall, will you not remedy my loneliness? Will you not spare me but a word?”

The wall said nothing. I sat by it, leaned against it, and began to cry.

The next week I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “If you will not speak, will you listen?”

The wall listened, and so I spoke.

“Every morning I go to school, and my classmates think horrid of me. They think terrible things about what I say and what I do, all of which are not true! Every afternoon I go home, and my parents think horrid of me. They think I am not good enough, will not suffice! They think I ought to do better, to be better, to accomplish more! Every night I go to sleep and my dreams make horrid of me. I see in my nightmares all of my flaws, all of my weaknesses, all of the things I cannot bear to hear. I cannot escape even from my own head. Oh, wall, do you hear my sorrows?”

The wall said nothing. I gave it a smile, and leaned against it for a while.

The next month I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “My parents wish me to sign up for a music class. I do not want to! Music is not my passion! My passion is of words and of writing, but they call me untalented and will not pay for me to be educated where I cannot succeed. Please, wall, what do I do? My parents will not listen! I cannot follow my dreams! Wall, help me! I cannot play piano or clarinet however talented I may be! I simply will not be able to bear it! Help to make my parents see that I have dreams, and that without those dreams…I am nothing!”

The wall said nothing. I slammed upon it with my fists.

“SPEAK TO ME”, I shrieked in desperation, sobbing in despair and in anger. “Please, help me! Why must you sit there without a word? Why will you not help me, speak to me?”.
The wall said nothing. I broke down in tears, and curled up against the wall, washing my soul clean with the salty water spilled from my eyes..

The next week I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “The man I love has rejected my heart. He says he cannot return my feelings any longer. Wall…help me. I…I am broken inside. He has wrought the final blow. I shall never be the same. Nevertheless – I can no longer hurt more. This shall be the end of my deepening troubles. I have reached the bottom”.

The wall said nothing. I sat against it, and rested quietly, swimming in my pain.

The next day I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “I was wrong! I said things could not have gotten worse, but I was wrong! The girl with the blonde hair has stolen my love. She has lied about my honor, she has defaced my good name, and she has torn my heart from me and shattered it against her wall! I take back what I said, wall. Things can get worse. Things can always get worse. There is no such thing as the bottom of troubles.”

The wall said nothing. I turned away and left, softly spilling my tears.

The next month, I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “Oh, wall, a joyous thing has happened! I have made a friend! A girl who will talk to me, who cares not what the others say! I finally have a person to speak with, a person who shares my gift of tongue! Oh, wall, I am happier than I have ever been! Do you not share in my elation? A girl to whom my reputation matters not; only the matter of my mind!”

The wall said nothing. I smiled, and went to keep it company a while.

The next month I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “Oh, wall, I cannot stand my pain. My best friend, my only consort, the one girl who would speak to me and understand my mind – she is ill. She is dying. They say within the year, she shall be dead. Oh, wall, what will I do? How can I cope? How can I help her with her pain, and yet deal with my own as well? Wall…”

The wall said nothing. I leaned my forehead against the stone, and sobbed.

The next year, I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “My best friend has died. She was afflicted with illness, and died at the age of 21. It was too young, wall! Too young! Oh, whatever shall I do? I pray for her soul every night, wall. But I cannot bring her back to our Earth. I can never again hear her voice, never again receive her words, never again. She will never be among us again. Oh wall…please, I cannot stand it! Speak to me! You are all I have left, wall! You are the only one who can help me! Without you…I have no one. I have no one, as it is, but you.”

The wall said nothing. I turned in anger, and ran away, hoping to run from reality.

The next week I came back. The wall was still there.

“Wall”, I said. “We’re leaving. I’m leaving. We’re leaving to a different town. I’ve got to get away – get away from this school, this town, this place. The torment of my peers, the pressure of my parents, the constant reminder of the only friend I ever had…I cannot stay here.”

The wall said nothing. I pressed my hand to it.

“I want to thank you, wall”, I said. “You were there when I needed you. You listened. I could talk to you. I could say what I needed to, and never needed fear of your judgment. I thank you for that, wall. You are my only true friend. You are the only one I can count on to always be there. You never left me. You never listen to the horrid lies of a jealous girl, or the teasing seduction that draws you from my side. You never leave me behind in this world by way of illness or death. You are always there, wall. Thank you. Thank you for that.”

The wall said nothing. I walked away.