The sun shone bright through the clouds, creating a rainbow on the driveway as the rain slowed to a light misting. The sound of screaming children as they splashed in the puddles resonated off the houses. Fussy mothers chased after the younger children as the rest of the adults stood together and laughed as they spoke. But there was one pair, mother and daughter, that stayed together ignoring their neighbors. As the newest members to the community they knew none of the other people, and so stayed together.
The mother a beautiful auburn red head, body tall and lean graceful in all her movements, even as she wobbled unsteadily with stacks of boxes from the moving truck into her home maneuvering around her daughter as she went. The woman's long hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her Harvard sweat shirt hanging over her shorts, made her look no less beautiful, if not a little more worn than her usual look would suggest. Her daughter, no more than three, just as beautiful as her mother with the same hair and dark eyes, her full cheeks flushed a bright red from running around the yard trying to catch flecks of the rainbow, unaware of the other children. She wore a lovingly worn pair of overalls, mud and grass staining the knees and her tiny hands, with her head of ringlets pulled lovingly into twin pigtails on each side of her head, and little rain boots on her feet.
Across the street from the woman and her daughter was a little boy, the same age as the young girl, his dark hair in a buzz cut. He wore a red flannel top over a Batman t-shirt, an old pair of jeans, and a pair of beat up sneakers. Every few moments or so he would glance over at the girl as she dashed around. His mother, sat on the porch observing him curiously. Her long black hair pulled to the side in a braid and bangs framing her plump completion, tan sweater -more like dress- over her leggings with black flats. Laughing lightly to herself the mother stood from her perch and went to her boy leaning down to whisper into his ear, "Why don't we go say hello?" He looked to her with excitement sparking in his eyes.
He dashed across the street and into the neighboring yard straight to the young girl, disregarding his mother's call. He tapped the girl on the shoulder, her head swinging around to stare at him, confusion spreading across her tiny features. He raised his hand and made a small wave, "Hi, I'm Stiles. What's your name?" His high, energetic voice startling her for a brief moment where they sat in silence, the yells and laughter of the other children filling the space. "It's, uh, Ahnah." She said her voice soft as the boy continued to look at her curiously.
Stiles' mother had come up behind him, looked at the pair and then left to go help Ahnah's own mother as the two children had sat in silence.
"Hi, here let me help you with that. I'm Evelyn, I live across the street from you. My son had seen your daughter playing and wanted to come say hello." Stiles' mother said as she took a box from Ahnah's mother, helping her take the last few boxes inside the house. "Hi. That's great and, thanks for the help." Ahnah's mother said tucking a stray hair behind her ear, then extending her hand, "I'm Reagan, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad you're here, I didn't think Ahnah was going to make any friends. She's not very social in new places."
"I'm sorry to hear that, my little Stiles is a bit too much for some kids, his ADHD makes his excitement a bit of a chore. But I love him all the same." Evelyn says glancing out the front window to see Ahnah and Stiles in a game of tag, running through puddles and around trees. The women continued talking, organizing the house and joking, becoming closer by the hour, as the children did the same in the yard, only coming in for lunch when they were called.
As Evelyn and Stiles said their goodbye's Stiles pulled Ahnah into a tight hug, once he let go he look at her and said, "We're going to be best friends forever." Ahnah nodded a wide smile on her face, "Forever."