In a world where we often forget how important children’s voices are, it is especially valuable to pause and listen to the words that come from their hearts. This story, written from the perspective of fifteen-year-old Edina, reminds us of the fragility of growing up, but also of the remarkable strength that children carry within themselves. Through sincere and touching reflections, the author guides us through feelings of loss, change, and hope, inviting us to imagine a more just world—a world in which no child is alone. Her words are not just a story, but also a call for empathy, understanding, and the creation of a society where borders do not exist in people’s hearts.
“A World Without Borders Is a World in People’s Hearts”
There are pains that children should never have to feel, yet they carry them. When we are little, the world fits into a few embraces, into a hand that leads us across the street, into the voice of a parent calling us to dinner. Family means everything then, because it is our first sky, our first shelter from anything that might hurt us. But as we grow up, we realize that life is not always gentle. Sometimes people go their own ways, friendships drift apart, first love begins and ends, leaving the heart with small holes that hurt. That is when we understand that growing up is not just about getting older, but about learning how to carry feelings we do not know how to explain.
It is even harder when we realize that there are children who learn these lessons much earlier. Children who grow up in a world where wars exist, where fear, loss, and the silence after sirens are part of their everyday lives. Children do not start wars—children never choose pain—and yet they are often the first to feel its consequences. The world of adults can be unfair to those who are least to blame, and that is what hurts the most.
As I stand at this point somewhere between childhood and adulthood, I sometimes feel the world drifting away. Friends from the past are no longer there, parents sometimes withdraw—either unwilling or unsure of how to be there for me while I carry my quiet struggles. Then I remember the days when everything was simple, when small smiles and games were enough to make the heart happy. And sometimes the heart aches precisely because of that, because everything has changed, and yet I still wish it could be as it once was.
So, when I imagine a fairer world, I imagine a world in which no child goes through pain alone. A world in which family remains—not only in the home, but in the heart, in an embrace that says, “I am here and I will not leave.” A world in which friendships do not disappear with time, but remain as bridges that hold us even when we are far apart. A world in which love is not frightening or confusing, but warm and gentle—a love in which we learn to laugh, to trust, and to love without fear of being left alone.
In that world, children do not have to be strong before they learn to be happy. They do not need to hide their sadness or feel lost while searching for their place. It is a world where pain is recognized and shared, and where happiness is given space to grow. A world in which every small human being knows that there is a place where they belong, where their voice is heard, and where their happiness matters just as much as anyone else’s.
Perhaps a fairer world does not mean the disappearance of sadness or war—but it means that no child goes through pain alone. That there is a hand to lift them up, a voice that understands them, and an embrace that will not let go. A world without borders is not a world without maps, but a world without borders in people’s hearts, where love, care, and empathy become the right of every child.
And as long as there is even one child who believes that someone will be there when their heart hurts, there is hope that the whole world can learn how to become a home for all children. And perhaps the most important lesson we all need to learn is that as long as at least one heart is brave enough to love and to believe, the world can still become a place where no child is alone.
