Ghosts of a Memory

The accident

A young girl sat on the swing, swaying slightly as she softly kicked her feet against the ground. She occasionally cast sidelong glances at the vacant swing beside her that swayed to and fro in the light breeze. She sighed as she tilted her head towards the clouds drifting lazily overhead. 

"Sorry, am I late?" A friendly voice suddenly came from beside her. She turned her head in surprise. A boy around her age was now sitting on the previously empty swing, smiling pleasantly at her. 

The girl smiled back. "No, it's okay." 

"What do you want to do?" He asked, rocking in his swing. 

The girl shrugged. "Your hair is a mess though." She giggled, reaching out to flatten his untidy mass of hair. 

"I just came back from soccer practice," he grinned. "That's kind of why I was late." 

"Soccer..." she said, gazing up at the sky dreamily. "My dad and I used to play soccer all the time." 

He looked down at his white sneakers, which were stained brown with dirt. "What about Ryan?"

"Ryan? I mean, he's cool and all but it's not the same. Nothing has been the same lately." She sighed heavily. She felt the familiar weight on her chest that always came with talking about topics like this. 

"Well, at least you still have me. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled warmly, hoping to cheer up his friend.

She nodded and smiled back at her friend. "Thanks."

"Come on, I know what'll cheer you up," the boy suddenly said as he stood up. "Ice cream! There's a new ice cream parlor nearby. We should check it out." 

"Alright then." The girl agreed, standing up as well. 

"Oh, by the way," she piped up as they were walking. "I got this for you." 

She reached into the black bag hung on her and pulled out a short silver chain with a pendant in the shape of an infinity sign. 

She placed the accessory in her friend's open palm. "It's a bracelet," she added, rubbing her arm nervously. "It's your birthday present, even though I'm two days late." 

"I have one too." She held up her arm to show him the matching silver bracelet wrapped around her wrist. The infinity sign pendant shone proudly as it reflected the sunlight. 

The boy looked down at the gleaming silver chain in his palm. A small smile played at his lips. The girl didn't seem to notice. 

"I'm sorry if you don't like it," she rambled on. "I'm not very good at giving gifts." 

"What are you talking about?" The boy said. He was smiling rather widely now as he lifted his head to look at her. "I love it." 

"Oh. Well, that's good to know." The girl said, relieved as she watched him fasten the clasp of the bracelet around his wrist. 

"Now we match." He said happily, pulling the long sleeves of his jacket over his wrist to conceal the bracelet underneath. 

They continued walking until they reached a road. "There's no zebra crossing here so we'll have to cross on our own." The boy said, turning his head left and right to ensure the road was free of passing vehicles. 

"Alright, come on." He said. 

As they were walking, the girl realized that the familiar feeling of cold metal against her skin was gone. She looked down at her wrist and saw that her bracelet was gone. She spun around and retraced her step, head bent low in search of her bracelet.