Meryl shifted her weight from one foot to the other standing behind the wall in Paradise Orchard. Uncle Ronald had told her that she was going to be meeting someone later tonight. He smiled at her reassuringly and rubbed her head when he told her, the way he always did . She remembered the way she had cried when he had brought her home and the way he had hugged her and brushed her hair but she pushed such thoughts out of her mind.
Meryl stared out the window into the orchard where the oranges were growing in the hot summer sun. She hoped that whoever was coming to see her would want to stay inside and maybe would forget she was even there and just drink fruit juice with Ronald as most of them did. She squatted down, her fingers holding firmly to her shoes, watching the ants on the floor.
The door opened and she looked up quickly, her braids swinging, noticing a boy maybe a little older than her. He was wearing a large strange hat and had a little bag with him. The boy burst through the door and waved to Uncle Ronald speaking loudly and cheerfully, "Hiya, you said you had someone you wanted me to meet?"
Meryl hid behind the wall, which got the attention of the boy who yelled happily, "Hey is that who you wanted me to meet? Hey come back here!" The boy ran behind the wall as Uncle Ronald tried to tell him not to run but it was too late. He peered down at Meryl, crouching over trying to see her face which she was covering with her palms.
"Hey, what are ya hiding for?" he said curiously, tugging gently on one of her braids. Meryl peeked at him and pushed his hand away, scooting away from him. Unfortunately, the boy was intrigued by her and was not going to leave until he knew everything about her, "I've never seen you before, so you must be from somewhere else! My name is Tim, and you?"
Meryl bit her lip, looking away shyly, "…Meryl.."
Tim's face formed a smile immediately, "Cool! Let's go outside and play!"
She looked at him as if he had just asked her to murder somebody, "P-play?...No…"
Tim frowned and stomped his foot, "Aw come on don't be like that! If you play with me you can be my side kick. Besides I need a side kick…" He observed her curiously, arms folded across his chest wondering if he had been convincing enough.
Meryl sulked, bringing her knees to her chest and eyeing Uncle Ronald, looked for a sign from him. He was peeling some oranges and watching the children carefully, hoping Tim would win in the end. Seeing Meryl staring at him he smiled at her tenderly and nodded. She scowled at him and buried her mouth in her knees, gazing at the window outside.
Tim impatiently waved his hand in front of her face, "Hellooo? So are you going to play with me?"
Meryl shook her head, her braids swinging from side to side speaking softly, "…I can't…" She moved away from him once more pushing away his hand with a soft whine.
Tim groaned and plopped down beside her, leaning against her, speaking in a loud and shrill voice, "But whyyyyy? Come and play with me! We can go adventuring, it'll be so much fun!"
Meryl nearly shrieked as he sat down next to her - touching her, being close to her, remind her of bad memories - she scurried away from him into the corner and crouched there, shriveled up like a crumpled paper, "…No, stop, please, I don't…." She felt tears rising in her eyes and stopped talking bowing her head, her delicate fingers tugging on her braids. She sank to the floor and leaned her head against the wall, shielding her eyes from Tim's gaze.
Tim watched her with great pity; he had never seen anybody as scared as her, what was she so afraid of? He crawled over to her slowly, on his hands and knees kneeling in front of her, not looking at her but at the cracked tile. He spoke sincerely his voice laced with determination, " I'm sorry for upsetting you. But I promise you – nothing bad will happen outside. We'll have fun together. I promise."
Meryl listened to everything he said debating and fighting herself, why should she believe him? She didn't even know him and he was loud anyway, why would she want to bother with him anyway? Because maybe he might be different. Or maybe he'd be like everyone else she had met – the thought of it paralyzed her so. She was shivering a bit trying with all her might to disappear.
Tim rubbed his head unsure of what to say and turned around to face Uncle Ronald shrugging with a sad yet somewhat mischievous grin. Uncle Ronald started to walk over to the kids, his jolly mood dented by this unfortunate turn of events. Rubbing his sticky hands on his colorful shirt he called out sweetly, "Oye Meryl."
Hearing Uncle Ronald's tone, the tone he commonly used when he was trying to get her to eat vegetables or to make her happy, she looked up gloomily like a rain cloud and glancing over at Tim, pouted at him and turned with loving eyes toward Uncle Ronald.
Tim stood up slowly so as not to scare her yet his efforts were in vain as a few weak whimpers came from the shriveled up girl on the floor. Tim said nothing, looking directly at her with a determined grin on his face and sympathy in his eyes he held out his hand to her. Obviously, she was different from him and that to be her friend would require him to be careful and thoughtful. Piece of cake, he thought to himself.
She watched his hand's movement warily, trying to discern what the expression on Tim's face meant. Even analyzing Uncle Ronald's face didn't help; maybe it wasn't helping because both of them were telling her to trust blindly.
She reached out and accepted the hand, not looking at Tim or Uncle Ronald. Tim grinned widely, seeing how he had won, he squeezed her hand and gave her a mischievous smile "Alright ya' wanna go play now?"
After he had helped her up she retracted her hand and walked to the kitchen slowly not saying anything to anybody. Both of the men watched her as she opened the refrigerator and acquired an orange which she began to peel and eat slowly. She sat at the table near the window looking out of it dreamily. Wiping her mouth, not turning to look at either of them, she spoke absolutely but with a slight tremor, "…Not today."
Uncle Ronald laughed and rubbed the back of his head. At least she was going to give it a chance. He looked over to Tim who was staring at Meryl with the expression of someone who didn't know whether to smile or to sigh. Instead Tim gifted him with an impish giggle and a kind parting, "'Kay, I'll be back, and we'll go adventuring together and you'll love it. "
Meryl tossed in her bed, feeling some sweat on her forehead. The comforters were crushing her and she whined irritably. This was the third time this week she had not slept through the night. Pushing off her covers the hot air in the room was unbearable. Uncle Ronald had turned the heat on since it was winter but with all the sheets and comforters he had piled on sit was far too warm and he was drenched in sweat.
She quietly climbed out of bed, tugging at the hem of her nightgown which was way too big for her. She crept across the room and tried with all her might to open the door without a sound. It made a slight creak but not enough to wake up uncle Ronald. She stepped outside, bare feet on the frozen stone outside. The night air was crisp and cool but was laced with a feeling of nostalgia. She missed him. She looked up at the stars wondering if he was seeing them too. A biting breeze blew through the door like a hurricane, making the sign outside shake as if in fear.
Reluctantly, she closed the door and wandered back to bed, her face tingling from the chill. As she rest her head on the pillow trying to rest her thoughts about him, she lamented, "Why can't I dream about nice things?"