For the first time in fifteen years, I am walking on this street again. By this house. Through this city. With the boy of my dreams. My best friend for years.
He breaks our growing yet comfortable silence, "Oh, Helena, I've missed you so much! I've missed everything of our childhood really. The crazy memories, the dreams we had, the adventures we planned, the lies to your parents, the time when we were closer than ever. Don't you miss it?"
At this moment, I am overcome with sadness. Everything has changed so much. "I really do miss it, Trenton, but look how different everything is now. It never would have been close to the same if we had stayed here. Imagine if you'd never moved here though. Do you remember the first day we actually met? Remember how scary you found my lovely sister, Sydney?"
Trent's eyes light up, and the memories of our past flood into our heads…
**
It is the beginning of April, the start of spring. The few trees in the big city beginning to grow their leaves for summer. The weather starting to grow warmer. A young girl stares out of the window of the town home she lives in with her parents and five siblings. She sees the moving truck coming; the distance slowly shortening. The truck finally pulls up with a loud screech of its tires. A young, energetic boy jumps out along with a wearied mother. The boy’s head and eyes glance around rapidly, taking in the city around him. He sees the bright, colorful shops, the small park across the street, the group of townhouses where he is about to start his new life, and the girl staring at him through the window of the only fuchsia-colored townhouse in the state.
He waves up to the small girl who appears to be his own age. She has jet black hair with the brightest blue eyes he's ever seen. The girl realizes he is waving at her, and she runs to her sister's top bunk in their room to hide. Just as she flees from the window, the boy's curiosity takes over. He runs to the matching fuchsia door and rings the doorbell about seven times. To his surprise, a tall, scary teenager swings open the door with apparent anger. He cowers in her shadow.
"Who are you, and what do you think you're doing ringing my doorbell seven times in a row?" She asks these questions in a very matter-of-factly-but-I'll-kill-you-if-I-have-to kind of voice. The weirdest part of the situation to the boy is that the scary girl was a red-head. All the red-heads he’s ever known were nice!
"Well...I just moved here from, wait, C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-C-U-T, Connecticut, " he announces proudly. "I learned how to spell it as soon as Mommy said we were moving! I just got here, duh, you probably know that because of the big truck, huh? But I was looking around because it's new here and everything, and I saw a girl in the window of your house. I waved to her, but she ran away right after I waved! I just want to say hi to her! She looked really lonely, so I wanted her to be my first friend here in P-E-N-N-S-Y-L-V-A-N-I-A, Pennsylvania. So can I say hi? I’ll go home after!"
The teenager simply stares at him for what felt like eternities until she simply screams, "HELENA!" and walks away, leaving the front hanging open.
Loud stomps come crashing from the steps, so Trenton figures it is Helena, his new friend. He is quite confused on how such a small girl can make so much noise though. While he is contemplating this, a sad, solemn girl appears in front of him. A hard stare and a quiet hello comes from the exact same person he’d seen in the window. Trenton is shocked to hear her voice which is equally as sad as her appearance.
“Well, hi there, I’m Trenton! I just moved in next door as you probably noticed, huh? Do you stare out that window a lot? My bedroom is really close to that window, so we could probably talk from our windows! So, you’re Helena? What’s your favorite color? How old are you? Do you want to be my new best friend? I left all my other friends in C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-C-U-T, Connecticut when Mommy and me came here, but when I saw you in the window, I knew we’d be best friends forever! But I have to go help Mommy unpack now. I really want you to come visit me at my house, but if you don’t want to, I’ll come see you again! Okay?” The boy named Trenton says all of this far too fast for Helena to catch most of it, but she is very intrigued by the young boy. To Trent’s surprise, as he leaves to go to his new home, she follows him and finds her second home for the next ten or so years.
