It was a terrible day. First, the alarm clock had not rung and she had overslept. In the pouring rain, she had run to the bus, which had left right in front of her, making her late for work. Her boss had not been pleased, but had said nothing more.

But then there had been the incident with the presentation. Strictly speaking, it wasn't her fault that her colleagues hadn't done their work, but her boss didn't care.

"First you're late, and then you screw up!" he had yelled at her, and for minutes she had to listen to all kinds of nasty words from him.

Completely distraught, she had crawled into her workplace and longed for the end of the day. When it came, she had quickly packed her things and made her way home, but not without meeting the boss again, who said goodbye to her with sharp words.

It had stopped raining in the meantime, but once again the bus drove away right in front of her. Sadly, she set off on foot for home, perhaps the walk would bring her to other thoughts.

She wasn't usually a sad person, but lately a lot of small, negative things had happened that had really dampened her spirits, and today had been the low point so far.

Feeling dejected, she was walking down the street, not really paying attention to the path, when suddenly she stomped both feet into a large, rather deep puddle. A mixture of anger and sadness rose in her, but suddenly there was something else.

A memory.

A memory of when she was a little child. Of how she had played in the rain as a little girl. How she had jumped from puddle to puddle. How she had imagined jumping from one ocean to another, she, the great explorer.

This memory became stronger and stronger, and began to displace the sadness and anger. Following a sudden impulse, she began to jump up and down in the puddle. The water splashed away in all directions with each landing, and she hopped on and on, making a dash for the next puddle, and jumping up and down there again.

A feeling of happiness began to spread through her, for a moment she was again the carefree girl from back then, exploring and conquering the oceans.

For quite a while, she couldn't say how long, she jumped from puddle to puddle, laughing happily, with tears of joy in her eyes. Her shoes and pants were soaked, but she didn't mind. For one beautiful moment she had forgotten her worries and remembered carefree times.

These memories did not undo that bad day, but they made it bearable. She had found happiness in small things, in a beautiful memory, and this gave her the strength to get through even the bad moments.

And so, with a lighter heart, she made the rest of the way home without missing a single puddle.