𝕺𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖚𝖕𝖔𝖚𝖓 𝖆 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊,
There was a girl from a loving family.
A boy from a broken background.
Everything went well until she was separated from her childhood best friend.
She struggled to come to terms with his sudden absence from her...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She is 10 years old.
"Mommy! I wanna go play please." I begged her, trying to give my best puppy eyes.
It was already six in the evening, the perfect time for playing ball games with the other kids who gathered around. There were some mean kids too, like that one time when I asked a taller girl if I could join their hide-and-seek game and she said no. But mostly, the kids were nice.
But right now, mommy is trying to teach me maths or whatever you call it.
Like what even is the point of it?
Subtraction, Addition, Multiplication, and—
"Ria, focus first!" My mom's stern eyes locked onto mine, and I instantly plopped back down on the chair, folding my hands grumpily.
"Will you let me go down if I complete this homework?"
"Of course. Do it first."
Within the next few minutes, I was done with it. Well, I did try to do my best but there were some mistakes in it - which Mommy helped me out with. And then, I was dashing down the stairs to go play outside.
Today wasn't as hot as usual. One time, I came back home with a shirt soaked in sweat, and Mommy made me shower for the third time that day. That was more exhausting than playing.
Anyway, I ran to my usual friends and tapped them on the shoulder from behind, scaring them. They all screamed, and I laughed.
"Alexandria! Don't do that!" Thea yelled, her eyes wide and almost teary.
"You're just a scaredy-cat, Thea!" Tomy replies kicking the ball into the air.
.
The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the playground, signalling it was time for me to head home before my mom came looking for me.
I painstakingly bid bye to my friends and they do the same as we part ways. I start to walk in the direction of my home.
That's when I noticed him—a boy swinging alone on the playground. His head was bowed, eyes fixed on the ground, and his jet-black hair fell over his face. His clothes were dirty, and he looked lost in his world.
"Hello?" I whisper, trying to remain jolly, moving closer to him slowly.
Mommy said not to talk to strangers.
His face instantly shoots up - he has a nice face. Black eyes. A sharp nose. No smile, though. He would look as handsome as my daddy if he smiled!
"You need to smile!" I say, plopping down on the swing next to him, hoping to see a change in his expression.
He stares at me. It is scary.
"Um, I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk. You looked sad."
Still no words. His dark eyes room all over me. His dark eyes roamed over me, taking in my purple tulle dress and the messy braids my mom had done that morning.
"You look so pretty, you can't look sad. Smile!"
He opens his mouth and then closes it. Was I being weird?
"I'm pretty?" He whispers back.
"Yes!" I giggle, "My name is Alexandria Rivera! What's your name?"
"My mom hates me." He says, eyes not leaving mine for a second.
Huh, how could his mother hate him? My mommy loves me! Even though she keeps scolding me for doing my subtraction homework and taking a shower twice a day, I still love her.
She loves me too! Mommy always braids my hair and feeds me food. She makes all my favourite food to make me happy. Then she sings me songs and reads me stories in bed. Isn't that so cool?
"Your mom loves you! Mine love me too." I say, swinging my eyes back and forth.
"Really?"
"Yes!" I say, "What is your name?"
"Killian."
"You don't have a last name? Mine is Rivera."
"Donomie. My name is Killian Donomie." He smiles at me, revealing a set of dimples that lit up his face.
"You are so cute! You have dimples!" I giggle running up to grab his cheeks in my hands. I wanted to squeeze them—they were just like my mom's.
He instantly took a step back, but I didn't stop. His face was so pretty, and those dimples made him look even more special.
"Alex, stop please!"
"No, no no let me touch your dimples!" I laughed and giggled, my fingers tracing the indentations on his cheeks. He tried to pull away, but I could see a small smile forming on his lips.
We sat there for a while longer, talking about our favourite games and what we liked to do after school. Gradually, Killian seemed to relax, his initial guardedness giving way to a shy smile now and then.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a golden hue over the playground, I knew it was time to go home. "I have to go now, Killian," I said reluctantly, standing up from the swing.
"Okay," he said softly, looking down at his feet.
"Maybe we can play together tomorrow?" I suggested eagerly.
He hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah, maybe."
"Great!" I grinned, feeling happy that I had made a new friend. "See you tomorrow, Killian!"
