The Thousand Paper Cranes

The first time that he met her, she was a scrawny seven year old. Messy dark pigtails, hazel eyes way too big for her tiny heart-shaped face and her red pinafore and ballet shoes splattered with mud.

Luke stared at her from her head to her toes. “You’re awfully dirty.” He said bluntly.

The little girl blinked her eyes at him. Then Luke was taken aback by the radiant grin that she gave him. Most little girls would’ve puffed out their cheeks in disdain and/or ran home crying.

“Ha-ha! I know,” She said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. Using her other hand in an attempt to rub off the mud off her chubby cheek, she only proceeded in spreading the dirt to her chin and forehead. Her smile was the brightest and most genuine that he had ever seen, almost blindingly so.

She jerked a thumb at the clump of bushes that she had emerged from seconds ago. “You see, I was walking around there when I saw a white butterfly! I wanted to get a closer look so I followed the little thing but it went through the bushes and-“

Luke listened to her little adventure quietly; she ended it with a little laugh. Her laughter was light, bubbly and loud. Hearing her laugh increased his fascination towards her.

 And something uncharacteristically strong and raw grew inside of him.

“Hey!”

Luke jumped a little when she suddenly popped her face so close in front of him. He blushed bright red at the closeness of their faces. The young boy pulled his face back in an attempt to give some distance between them.

“W-what?” He stuttered.

The young girl grinned, “I said, my name is Erin.” She said then tilted her head to the side, “What’s yours?”

He blinked.

She patiently waited for his answer, her bright smile still plastered on her face.

“Luke,” He said, after seconds of silence. “My name is Luke.”

The little girl, Erin, grinned even wider; light red colour spread across her chubby cheeks, “Nice to meet you, Luke!” 

Since he was shy and hardly went out to play, Erin became his first friend and only playmate whenever his parents allowed him to play outside.

One day, Erin found him crouched underneath the sycamore tree- their usual meeting place- his face pressed against his knees. She stroked his hair gently, sensing the sadness coming from her friend.

“Luke, what’s wrong?” She asked in a tiny, confused voice.

It took Luke a few minutes before finally answering Erin, his face forlorn and his eyes lifeless, “Doctor said Mom is dying.”

He heard her gasp, “Oh, Luke!”

Luke stayed quiet and kept his face buried against his knees. He felt her run away from him, the little boy peeked from his knees and watched Erin’s retreating back. He felt more dejected than ever. Why did she leave? Didn’t she know that he needed a friend more than ever? Luke disappointedly sighed before reburying his face on his knees.

But several minutes later, he heard footsteps again. Luke pulled his face away from his knees and looked at the bright-eyed girl sitting in front of him.

“What’s that for?” He asked, pointing at the several sheets of paper in front of her.

Erin beamed at him. “We’ll make paper cranes!” She said and started folding the paper.