"And you make it sound like it's that easy to be strong and be brave when you are constantly put in a situation where you are sheltered and put in a place where it's a nightmare every day." Maddie frowned at Ollie.
"You make it sound so easy." Maddie said.
"I'm not thinking of it like that honestly, I have not thought of it that way." Ollie replied.
"Yeah, no one seems to. No one thinks about how it feels to be stuck in such a situation where everywhere you turn to, you see that person, every single moment of every single waking day." Maddie said gravely.
Annie and Matt looked at each other. They knew that Maddie was speaking from a place of experience not just superficial knowledge. Ollie's words really struck a sour chord and they could not even blame Maddie for reacting in such a way.
"I can't say that I know how that person feels, because I've never been in such a situation before, and I also can't say that I understand." Matt said and Annie nodded agreeing with him.
"But what I can say is that... life is unfair, we all know that." Ollie nodded, he agreed with that, life was truly unfair. Maddie scoffed, of course life was unfair, that was just life being... well life.
"But at the same time, the unfairness, the struggle and most times the pain are just stepping stones to the greatest happiness in our lives." Matt said. "I'm not trying to say that the hurt feelings and anger is not justified, no, it is, but at the same time, think about it."
"If not for a series of unfortunate events that brought about a motion of actions that made us all meet each other and become friends, we would definitely not be here today." Matt smiled as Annie and Ollie chuckled.
"Yes, it's true, think about it, one way or another, Azazel made us all connect, and he revealed some truths in our lives that without his presence and input would have never been revealed, even though he was just another case entirely." Matt said, Maddie shrugged.
"So, in a way, there is no good without bad, and you won't really know the worth of true happiness till you have passed through pain of some sort." Maddie frowned, this was the one thing she did not agree with.
"No, no, I don't think that, so you're trying to say that suffering is justifiable because without it, we won't be able to enjoy not suffering." She frowned.
"Well, in a way yes, because it's truth, without its opposite, the feeling or emotion would lose meaning." Matt replied.
"That's nonsense, simply because one doesn't suffer does not mean that you won't appreciate your lack of suffering." Maddie replied.
"To an extent, yes... if you haven't ever been poor before, you would never appreciate being rich." Matt frowned.
"The way you are saying it makes it does like suffering in justifiable." Maddie said.
"No, I never said that suffering is justifiable, some people that suffer do not deserve to, what I am saying though is that to an extent, you cannot truly appreciate something if you haven't been without it." Matt said, he knew that Maddie wanted him to change his mind and side with her, but he wouldn't do that.
He had his own thoughts and opinions too, and Maddie was clearly fond of shutting down other people's opinions, especially when they did not align with hers.
"I don't believe that's something reasonable to say, because it's like giving someone a glass of water for a nosebleed when they need a tissue." Maddie said. "It's like saying, oh, you're suffering, not to worry, just walk it off because if you don't suffer you won't appreciate the time when you're not suffering." She said.
"You're the one putting it that way, I never said that, people don't deserve to suffer, but they do, why? Well because of other people's actions, the way their made their choices and the choices they made. Indirectly we all suffer because of someone else's bad decisions and sometimes our own bad decisions." Matt said.
Annie could see that this was about to turn into a heated argument and she did not want that.
"Okay, wait, lets end it here." Annie chipped in before Maddie could continue speaking.
"Annie, don't dare tell me that you side with Matt on this?" Maddie turned to her.
"The thing is... I kind of do..." Annie said as Maddie sighed, why did she think it would be otherwise.
"I mean, you won't appreciate real friends if you've never been friendless before." She said. "But I am not saying that you won't be thankful for the friends you have, it is all just a matter of experience adding to the mix of gratitude."
"Being thankful is one thing, appreciation is another, because true appreciation means you cherish something, and how can you cherish love when you have never had it before?" Annie asked.
"Exactly." Matt said.
"You two always agree with each other, so I don't care. What I don't like is that you are saying we need a lack to be able to truly appreciate something." Maddie said, she was not going to allow them back her into a corner, she strongly felt like the way they were thinking was wrong.
She had suffered a lot as a child, an innocent child, she did nothing to be raised in the violent manner she was, but it happened and she could not help but wonder what she did to deserve such. Now with what Matt and Annie was saying, they made it feel like she deserved to suffer because only then would she appreciate not suffering now.
"Well superficially yes, that's just the law of nature, without good, there will be no evil and without evil, there will be no good." Annie replied. "I am sorry to say, but yes, truly, there is no such thing as neutrality in the world we live in, especially not this one."
"As much as I would like there to be a grey line, a middle point between all these, there isn't and that's just life." Annie said.
"So, you're saying it was just life's way of teaching me a lesson in appreciating a truly loving family by pairing me with an unbearable one?" Maddie asked, she blinked quickly vanquishing the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Maddie, no, you know I don't mean that, I didn't mean it like that." Annie said, she stood up and rushed to hug Maddie who pushed her away.
"But that's what it sounds like you're saying." She said she frowned, she didn't want Annie to come near her at all, no, not when they were all being insensitive.
Annie sighed, she knew she should have stopped talking, this was a very delicate matter with Maddie and they should have known better than to continue talking about it.
"Maddie, we didn't mean it that way, we're sorry." Matt said sincerely, he stood to his feet and tried to touch her but she flicked her hand and moved him away.
"No, you're not truly sorry, not when you still think that way." She said.
Ollie who was decided to keep silent and watch everything unfold, felt like now was the time for him to say something.
"I am going to say something." Ollie spoke up. Maddie, Annie and Matt looked at him.
"Wow, you're going to side with them again." Maddie scoffed, she expected nothing less from him.
"No Maddie, no, because there are no sides in this." Ollie said, "This is basic philosophy, now, if you were to ask the experts, there would still be a divide amongst them."
"No one is right and no one is wrong." He said. "But to answer you, the answer was already said earlier before this entire discussion began, the laws of nature still does not justify the reason for suffering, including yours." Ollie said.
"But as Matt said earlier, without whatever we have passed through in our lives that have shaped the way we think, the way we talk, the way we love, none of us would have been friends." Ollie said.
"Hey, I don't have the answers to everything, I never said I did." He chuckled. "But this is one thing I know... that if one thing, a single thing had changed in our lives, we wouldn't be friends today." Ollie smiled.
"Maybe I would have been too haughty to ever approach you guys and ask to be friends." He chuckled as Annie laughed and Maddie nodded her head.
"You are already haughty enough." She said as Ollie shook his head.
"Maybe Matt would have never crossed paths with you and Annie, maybe Annie would still be in Sunset Village." Matt laughed and Annie smiled at him.
"And you, my dearest Maddie, nothing would have made you run away from home in search of true happiness."