Honesty

I was riding the ferry to Manly Beach and this little girl, all of 5 years old, came running up the stairs singing, "I'm all by myseeeelf, my dad's downstaiiiirs. I'm all by myseeeelf...."

She smiled at everyone and walked over to two twentysomething goth girls with multiple piercings in their faces.

She sat down next to them, swinging her legs and said, "Hi. What are those things on your face?"

"These? They're jewelry."

"Why do you have them?"

"Ummm...I don't know actually. Because I like them. I think they look nice. Do you like them?"

The little girl cocked her head to one side and stared at the piercings. "Nope. I think they're kind of ugly."

The pierced girl laughed and said, "Well you're allowed to like whatever you want."

"I know."

The little girl continued to swing her legs and all three of them smiled as they stared out at the ocean.