The Crash

Age 7

When I was seven I would play out in my front garden. My summer days were spent there that year; alone. The only company I had was my fluffy toy rabbit Carter, and my imagination. Of course that didn't stop me having fun, I was a child who could live in her fairy kingdoms all day long. Those days would pale in comparison to the rest of the summers to come.

For my birthday my dad had fixed a swing on to the tree in our garden so I could soar through the air, laughing, while the wind pinched my cheeks bright red.

The first time I saw Kayla I was on that swing. She was standing at the fence next door watching me on my swing while adults walked around behind her with heavy boxes and furniture. Her chestnut curls were pulled into pigtails on the sides of her head and her blue eyes were wide as she saw me pick up momentum while I looked back at her. She turned around and ran into the house. I slowed down the swing to see where she was and seconds later she came back out with something cream coloured in her hand. Kayla walked past all the adults, followed the path to my house and stood next to me on the other side of the fence.

Getting off my swing I went towards her as she offered her hand towards me. 'My name is Kayla and it is a pleasure to meet you.' She smiled at me when I took her hand, her toothy grin was wide and infectious. 'I'm Amelia.' I lifted my hand to shake hers but before I could she pulled me into a hug. In my ear she whispered, 'My dad told me to always be polite and shake people's hands when introduced, but you're different, you're my new best friend.' I smiled, the only friends I had lived streets away and I couldn't play with them everyday because my dad was busy in his study and my mother was at work. I knew that from then on my summers wouldn't be just me and my toy rabbit.

'Look!' she exclaimed. 'I brought this to show you,' she picked up the cream coloured toy she had dropped on the floor. 'Now they can be friends too!' In her hands was a cream coloured toy rabbit, the same as my tan coloured rabbit complete with the pink bow tie. We giggled together and talked about nonsense until my dad came out of the house.

His hair was a bright blonde which sparkled in the light like glitter; one of the many things I had inherited from him. He swept me up in his arms and the smell of coffee wrapped me in a safe bubble. 'What you doing, pumpkin? Mummy is making dinner and wants you washed and ready for bed before it's finished.' He noticed Kayla after he had put me down, holding her rabbit tightly to her chest. 'Why hello there, I'm Rick, Amelia's dad. It's nice to meet you.' He smiled warmly at Kayla, who seemed to become less shy the more he stood there. 'I'm Kayla, I just moved in next door.'

'Is that so? Well it's very nice to see you and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of you in the future.' To this Kayla nodded her head and smiled back at him. I frowned and looked up to my dad, I didn't want to go in just yet. 'Dad, can I stay out here just a little longer to finish my conversation with Kayla please? I'll be ready for bed before Mummy has finished dinner I promise.'

My dad pondered this before sighing, 'I suppose you can have a few extra minutes, pumpkin. Don't cause too much mischief now you two.' With that my dad walked back to the house leaving Kayla and I squealing in excitement for our extra time talking.

A few minutes later Kayla walked back to her house and skipped up her walkway to her door. She looked back at me and waved at me before going into her house. I got ready for bed and sat at my kitchen table that night talking about Kayla to my parents throughout our meal. I told them how she had grown up in York before moving here and how I sounded different to her other friends back home, how her mum had gotten a new job so they moved house to stay close together and how most importantly she had the same toy rabbit as me but hers was cream and mine was tan. My parents listened intently and asked questions during our conversation. By the time we had finished our meal, I was drained from my day outside. My dad picked me up and carried me to my bedroom. While he was closing my curtains we noticed something, Kayla was looking out her window waving at us before she went to bed too. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, excited for the next day when I would see Kayla again.