So, this little thing was actually inspired by a conversation I had with another author on this site - cafeso. We were talking about how everything seems so simple when you are a child, yet in reality things are never that easy. That conversation arose from a story he wrote called A Reason to Keep Dreaming which I recommend you all go and read right now as I personally, loved it!
A small girl sits, huddled in the corner of her pink bedroom. Knees to her chest, fingers in her ears. The late afternoon sun peeking through her blinds, casting a warm glow around the room that was usually so cold. She clenches her eyes shut and tries to drown out the commotion happening around her. Angry words penetrate through her hands and swim around in her head. Words that she sometimes can't understand, but that didn't matter because anything said in that tone of voice can't be good. It is always like this when her parents argue.
Maiko flinches as a loud crash and the sound of shattering china echoes around the house and she once again shuts her eyes tight and tries to think happy thoughts. Her mind wanders to the shrine. It's her favourite place of all. Nothing can disturb the peace and the quiet. She is free to play all day and sometimes her friend joins her and even takes her out to eat where ever she wants to go. She smiles slightly as she pictures the pretty girl with the red eyes she has come to think of as her best friend.
She thought about all the times she had climbed to the top of the jungle gym, or played on the slide with her friend. Laughing as she waited for the older girl to catch up. Then they would run all around the shrine before stopping at the Takoyaki stand on their way home.
As happy as she was whenever she got to play with her friend, sometimes it was just too hard to forget what was waiting for her at home. Another evening full of fighting, shouting and most likely time alone, sitting in her room trying to drown it all out.
"They probably just fell out of love." Her friend had told her one day, after she had mentioned that her parents were probably going to get a divorce.
That had confused Maiko for a long time. How do you just fall out of love? She loved all her toys, and she always would. She couldn't imagine not ever having Bella, her stuffed bear, by her side. She loved all her books and her clothes and her backpack and most of all she loved her friend. The thought of not seeing her friend ever again, or not wanting her to show up and play made Maiko frown and want to cry.
Another crash and Maiko's eyes shot open. The sun had gradually been setting and now her room lay in darkness. Only the glow-in-the-dark stars, haphazardly stuck to her ceiling faintly illuminating the room. Maiko stared up at the stars, that were given to her as a present from her dad. Her eyes followed them all across the ceiling before settling on the window across from her.
She turned to face her door and could still hear the shrill words from her mother and the annoyed grunts from her father. As quietly as she could she stood up and grabbed her backpack before opening the window and slipping out.
The air was cold and she briefly wished she had grabbed her coat before leaving, but she didn't particularly want to head back now. She continued onward, only one destination in mind. It wasn't very far to the shrine, but the chilly early winter air had caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried her best not to let the tears fall. Her friend had told her that, despite their arguing, her parents still loved her, but it really didn't feel like it right now. She reached the shrine and sat on the horizontal bar, looking up, this time at the real life stars that made the fake, plastic ones in her bedroom look quite silly in comparison.
"Maiko! What are you doing here this late at night?"
Maiko looked down and saw her friend, with a equally red-eyed dog in tow, staring at her, confusion and worry evident across her face.
"..Erm.. I..." Maiko looked up and suddenly a swell of emotion rose up inside of her and the tears she had been fighting back all night erupted from her in a fit of loud sobs.
"Hey, it's ok." Maiko watched as her friend walked over to and sat down next to her before wrapping her arms tightly around her shoulders.
An eternity, or maybe just a few minutes, passed before Maiko managed to stop crying and look up into the concerned eyes of her friend.
"How did they jut fall out of love? I don't understand." she mumbled, before looking down towards the ground, kicking her feet back and forth.
"Oh...Maiko, what happened?"
"They were fighting... again. You said they fell out of love, but I don't get it. How can you just stop loving someone? I love Bella and I love you and I don't think that will ever change." She reached up to rub her eyes, before fresh tears started falling once more.
Her friend paused, bit her lip and started rubbing soothing circles on Maiko's back before getting off the bar and crouching down in front of her.
"There are a lot of different types of love." She began. "Sometimes you may just think you love someone. Sometimes a person can change so much that they aren't the same anymore and then your feelings about that person also change." Maiko looked up, realization dawning on her tear-stained face. "Then there is the love between best friends..." She clasped Maiko's hand in her own "... That is a type of love that will never change." She smiled and helped Maiko down off the bar. The red-eyed dog came running over, a short stick in his mouth, tail wagging furiously. Maiko looked back and forth between her friend and the dog and smiled her usual great big smile.
"Let's walk you back home soon, okay. You shouldn't really be out this late, but I'm really good at keeping secrets" She winked and Maiko grinned back, before picking up the stick with one hand and throwing it as far as she could for the dog, her other hand firmly clasped with her friend's as they walked around the shrine laughing and joking together.