Just a Matter of Time

Prolouge

25 years ago

"Amara!" My mom's voice echoed through the house as I was sprawled out on the carpet, busy with my drawing.

"Amara, honey, come here!" she called again, her tone a bit louder this time.

I set my pencils down and hurried to the kitchen, where my mom stood with a woman and a young boy beside her.

"Honey, I want you to meet our new neighbors. This is Mrs. Franck and her son, Elisha," my mom said, gesturing toward the pair. My face lit up with excitement at the thought of meeting someone new.

"Hi, I'm Amara and I'm 5 years old!" I introduced myself, grinning widely. The boy, who looked tiny and thin, clung to his mother's leg, peeking out at me with wide eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Amara. You can call me Miss Alice, and this is Elisha. You two are the same age, and your mother and I were college friends," Miss Alice said, her voice warm.

I glanced up at Elisha, who was still hiding behind his mother. Determined to make him feel welcome, I skipped over and knelt down in front of him. "Hi Elisha! I'm really friendly, I promise. I can show you all my toys and we can play together. Do you like drawing? I can teach you some of my favorite things to draw!"

Elisha didn't move, but Miss Alice smiled gently. "Elisha is still learning English. We lived in Germany for a while."

"Oh, that's okay!" I said quickly, trying to reassure him. "I will teach you English! We can teach each other new things. I'm super good at drawing, and I bet you'll like it too. I can show you how to draw a dragon or a spaceship. Do you like dragons or spaceships?"

Elisha peeked out from behind his mother's leg, his eyes still wide but curious. I continued to chatter away, hoping to make him feel more comfortable.

"You know, we can be best friends," I said brightly. "Best friends do everything together. I can show you all the fun stuff around the house. And if you're scared, don't worry. I've got lots of toys and fun games. We can even build a secret fort! What do you think?"

Miss Alice looked on with a soft smile, clearly pleased with my efforts. "It seems like Amara is very excited to have a new friend."

I nodded enthusiastically, giving Elisha a hopeful smile. "Yep! We're going to have so much fun together. I just know we'll be the bestest friends!"

Even though Elisha didn't say anything, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I had made a new friend and was determined to make sure Elisha felt welcomed and included.