An Estrangement

The girl cried. The boy, her best friend in the whole world, had refused to play with her. He was going to play with other boys. They called him a girlie wuss, and he was ashamed. He didn't like them, but he had to go play with them anyway. He felt like crying too, but her tears cheered him up. He felt powerful, like his father. "Don't be such a girl," he said, and ran away.

He had fun playing with the other boys that day, and came back home happy. He thought of the girl, and smiled. She was such a baby, making a fuss about this. Of course, he couldn't keep playing with her all the time, though he liked her more than anyone else, even more than his own brother. How small she looked, crying but trying to not show it. He'll make it up to her the next day. He'll let her wear his boy scout's cap. That'll make her happy. She looked very sweet when she laughed, almost as sweet as when she cried.

The girl cried for a while. She went to the park, and tried the swing. She couldn't go very high on it without him pushing her. She got down after a while, and went home miserable. Her baby brother came running towards her. She pushed him away. He cried. She pinched him. He cried a little more. Her mother came in and slapped her. She wanted to cry, but didn't. She just stared at her mother. Her mother slapped her again, took the baby and went in to cook. She waited till her mother left, and cried. She cried till her father came in to call her for dinner. He saw her, smiled and took her in his lap. She cried into his shoulder for five minutes. They went in for dinner, her mother gave her an extra sweet. She suddenly felt very happy. She slept between her parents that night, and made them both keep their hands on her.

The next day, the boy almost ran to school. Even so, he was late. He couldn't talk to her before the school assembly. He waited impatiently for the recess. When the bell rang, he sprang up to go to the girls's row, but she was already walking out with her next-seat neighbour. She was laughing. Suddenly he hated her. How silly she looks while laughing, he thought. All day, she avoided him, and all day he was miserable. That evening, it wasn't much fun playing with the boys. He misfielded thrice, and his teammates shouted at him to go back and play with girls, since that's all he was good for. He couldn't leave.

The girl had been miserable all day. She had expected him to follow her and talk to her. "He doesn't care!" she thought, "Well, he can please himself. I have my friends too." She played with her brother all evening. She thought he was very cute, even when he clawed her.

They didn't talk to each other for two months. Both were miserable.

The girl got out of it first. A new girl had moved into the next house. She went to the same class. They met each other shyly first, huddling close to each other's mothers. The ice soon thawed. They were thick friends, exchanging feathers and blue and pink hair bands.

The boy was learning to bike. He would often pass by the girl's house for no reason, frowning and looking ahead. He hoped she'd notice and talk to him, so that he could snub her. The girl did notice. She'd almost forgotten the fight. One day, she stopped him and introduced her new friend. "We're going to our singing lessons now. If you want, you can come and play with us tomorrow", she said.

The boy went home. He beat his brother. When his mother stopped him, he hit out at her. She stopped him easily, then just glared at him and took his brother away. When his father came, he was morose. His mother told his father he'd been wild all evening. He wished his father would beat him. His parents just talked softly, and left the room. He cried. He cried for himself. He cried because he was sad and she was not. He cried because she didn't care anymore.

From the next day, he played with the other boys every evening.

The girl sometimes came and talked to the boy. First, he wept bitterly every time after she left. Slowly, he stopped crying, and she stopped approaching him.

The girl and the boy avoided each other, but were polite whenever they had to talk. His father was transferred next year, and he moved out of town.

They go to college now. They don't remember each other.