"I'm sorry." She thinks about it. "Listen... I think a thing that I've had to realize is that I have a choice in how my life proceeds." She pauses. "You don't have to put up with it. I appreciate this, I appreciate that you'd let me into your house, and share your strawberries with me. But I don't want you to do things for me because you owe me, y'know?"

"...I don't feel like I owe you, I don't think... it's just... there are all these nice things you don't have, and I can give them to you?"

"Right, ok. Sorry, I might've been projecting there a bit." She smiles. "I just don't want to take advantage of you."

"I... appreciate that," she says, a little uncertainly.

Hm. "So... I don't know if I'm totally off base here, and I'm sorry if I'm harping on this a lot. But, if I did something you didn't like, or something that you didn't want to happen, would you be able to tell me no? Or to ask me to stop?"

"...maybe?"

She waits to see if she elaborates.

"...I guess I..."

"...most people don't want people to say no to them, right?"

She continues to stand there, patiently, she nods at her, as if to continue.

"So, I mean... it would be annoying if I did, wouldn't it?"

She stands determined to let the girl complete her thought.

"...so... I don't know, why do you want me to?"

"Ok, if you wanted to do something and I said no, then that would be annoying, right? So you wouldn't want that, right?" Her voice is as free from judgement and condemnation as she can make it.

"I mostly don't get annoyed with people."

She waits.

"...?"

"Nobody has ever done anything that you didn't want?"

"—well—I wasn't annoyed about it."

She nods, as if to tell her to continue.

Well, after a moment her sad, subdued expression fades into a more generally confused and uncertain one. That's about all she's got.

Dang, she thought she was going somewhere with that. She feels like there is a crucial realization to be had here, about why it is okay for people to say no to her and not vice versa, but she's not sure how to get there. She can't just state the conclusion outright, that won't do anything. Getting better is a long and difficult process and she feels ill-equipped to get her new friend there.

"You said that other people would be annoyed if you said no, but also that you don't get annoyed, why does that matter?"

"...well, because it's not good to annoy people?"

"But then, wouldn't it be better if nobody got annoyed?"

"...isn't that what I just said?"