"I never asked for friendship, yet you gave it to me."
An introvert who likes to go outdoors. An extrovert who's friends with one person at a time.
Summer's daytime lasts longer than the night, inviting everyone out to play. Sabito, a child who's l...
The next day, I returned to the swings once more. Low and behold, I discovered Valerie already waiting there. She sat on the same one she was on yesterday, fiddling with her skirt and twining her fingers. The creak from the playground gate signalled a hello, and her head perked up, a bright smile flashing across her face, welcoming my presence.
"Sabito!" she greeted, standing up and walking towards me.
"Valerie."
"You remembered my name!"
"And you remembered mine."
She giggled, wrapping her loose hair around her fingers.
We went on the swings again, this time, we competed against each other, reaching for the sky and looking beyond the horizon.
"I can see the whole world from up here!" yelled Valerie, sticking her head out. Amidst her cries and her laughs, the ice cream man's tune began to play.
"Oh no, we've missed the ice cream man," Valerie said, pouting her lips.
"What do you mean we've missed it?" I asked.
Surely the tune meant that he was here?
"Mummy said that if you hear the melody play, it means the ice cream man is going somewhere else."
"But mummy never lies..." she said in a small voice as she contemplated to herself.
"Mummy and daddy are allowed to lie."
"That's not fair. I want ice cream!" Valerie stated, her sandals scraping against the ground as she came to a complete stop.
"Alright, let's buy some," I said, holding out two coins.
"Are you sure we're allowed?"
"I can do whatever I want."
"That's so cool, let's go then!" she squealed, bouncing up and down.
She grabbed my hand and dashed out of the playground, following the van's notorious tune. Down the cobblestoned road and out into the street we went. I've never been so excited before, especially since it's just ice cream. No, this wasn't just ice cream, this was having ice cream with a friend.
"I see it!" she shrieked.
We hurried towards the colourful van, our lungs heaving in and out of our tired chests. The engine thundered through my body, and the music pumped my heart out of my ribcage. I walked up to the open window and looked at the faded pictures of ice cream and lollies stuck on the glass.
"Alright, Valerie, which one do you want?"
"I would like the pink one please," she said, pointing at the strawberry ice cream.
"I'll ask."
I stood on my toes and knocked on the window. An old man appeared, poking his head out. His head turned left to right but then retreated back. I knocked on the glass again, the pressure bouncing off my finger.
"Down here," I said.
He appeared again, his whole face now looking in my direction.
"Oh, hello--what would you like today?" he asked, a wary smile forming across his lips.
"Can I have a strawberry and vanilla ice cream please?"
"Of course. Do you have any money on you?"
He held a large hand out, and I placed my coins in his palm. After taking them in, he rummaged through a box of money and dropped some new coins in my hand.
"Here's the change."
He gave me back some different coins.
Why was I getting coins back? I didn't need new ones.
"Here's the strawberry," he said, handing me light pink ice cream. I gave it to Valerie, and her small hands clutched onto the cone. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes sparkled with delight. She stared at the perfect swirl for a few minutes before ruining its structure.
"And here's your vanilla one. Run along now."
"Thank you."
We wandered back, licking our ice creams along the way.
"After you," I said, opening the gate for her. We sat on a bench together, the cold cream cooling our tongues.
"Mmm, thank you so much, Sabito!" said Valerie, her face plastered with pink liquid.
"You're welcome," I replied, taking tissues out of my pocket, "here, let me help you out..."
I wiped the ice cream off her face, gliding the tissue across her cheeks and cleaning the edges of her mouth. She stared into my eyes, and I couldn't tell what she was feeling. Her face flushed bright red, but I suppose it was hot outside.
"S-Sabito-"
"Yeah?"
"Um... nothing."
I don't think it was nothing.
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