Once upon a time there was a little girl named Margaret. Margaret was pretty much a normal kid, but she didn't know it. That was because she almost never told anybody what she was thinking, and she almost never asked them what they were thinking either.
She tried to navigate her way in the world by watching other people, and by listening all the time. She especially tried to listen when it was hard to understand what was being said. She thought she knew how to read between the lines, but in reality, she wasn't very good at it.
Sometimes when there was a group of people together, like at a party, or at a picnic, or at school, she felt like she was just an observer. That she didn't really belong there, and wasn't entitled to join in the fun. She didn't know what to do in those situations, but she liked having people around just the same. She watched them all. She remembered their names and their faces and the feelings she had attached to each one.
Margaret didn't know that many people are shy--even some of her favorite people. She thought they were happy and carefree. She didn't know that they felt awkward too. She didn't know because she didn't ask. She didn't ask because it never occurred to her.
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