Don’t Be Xena-Phobic

(I’m in a convention with role-playing games such as LARPs and tabletop games as its theme. There are some dressing rooms for putting on costumes, and I’m there, chatting with a couple of other people as we get into our outfits. I’m in a post-apocalyptic getup and am about to add war paint on my face, when a little girl comes in with her mother.)

Girl: *looks at me as I paint a red hand-print over a black mask painted over my eyes* “Hi! Have you been coming here for long?”

Me: *though I don’t know the girl, I’m used to people of all ages making easy chit-chat in this particular event* “About five years, so I guess not that long. How about you?”

Girl: *proudly* “I was zero years old when I first came to this con! Mom brought me.”

Me: “Cool! You’ve been doing this for a long time then.”

Girl: “What are you dressed up as?”

Me: “I’m a post-apocalyptic scavenger and an explorer. Are you going to dress up?”

Girl: *beaming and with great pride* “Yep! I’m going to be a ninja geisha!”

Me: “That’s awesome!”

(As I speak, my heart is busy melting because the girl is so excited about the whole thing, and it made me remember how I wanted to be a warrior princess when I was little. It was absolutely adorable!)