Part 1 of Kismet. Enjoy.
It was a sweltering summer day. Well, sweltering for the inhabitants of Canada. With an almost record breaking 35° C, most residents wanted to do nothing but enjoy themselves in their cool house.
The kids wanted otherwise.
This heat wave was the perfect way to kick off summer. Children everywhere begged to be taken to the zoo, or a fair. Most just settled with a trip to the local park. Their parents didn't mind taking them, a trip to the park meant they could catch up on their reading, or catch up with the town gossip.
Once the families made their way to the park, the kids would run off to play with the other kids, while the parents would go join the other parents. Usually, parents don't see their kid until a few hours later, when the ice cream man comes around, or its just time to leave. The kids are having way too much fun to care.
As the tall blonde entered the playground with her redheaded daughter, people couldn't help but stare. Most were trying to figure out how someone with hair that fair could produce a child with hair as bright as her daughter's. Others, mainly the children, were fascinated by its vivid color.
"Honey, Mommy's gonna be sitting over there if you need me. Have fun, okay?" the woman said and kissed the little girl on the forehead.
"Okay mommy. Can I have ice cream first?" the redheaded girl asked. Her mother handed her a loonie and went to go sit with the other mothers.
She grinned and skipped over to the ice cream man.
"Can I get vanilla please?" she asked.
"Of course you can sweetheart. Do you want sprinkles on it too?" the ice cream man said, showing her a scoop of sprinkles. The little girl's eyes grew wide and she excitedly nodded.
"It'll be one loonie," he said and handed the ice cream to the girl. She handed him her money and walked back towards the rest of the kids, enjoying her ice cream along the way.
She managed to lick off all of the sprinkles before the impossible happened. Well, she didn't know it was possible. Her scoop of ice cream fell off of the cone and quickly began to melt onto the hot pavement.
"No!" she yelled and began to cry.
"Hey, why are you crying?" someone in front of her asked. She didn't bother giving him a verbal response. She just pointed to the pile of melting ice cream on the ground.
"Did it fall off?" he asked. She nodded and continued to cry.
"Here, you can have some of mine," he said, walking up to the crying girl, making sure not to step in the fast melting ice cream. He offered his cone to her and she gladly accepted it.
"Thanks. What's your name?" the girl asked after she stopped crying.
"Vinny," he said.
"Hi Vinny, I'm Judy. When we finish, you wanna go play on the jumble gym with me?" she asked, handing him the ice cream back.
"I thought it was a jungle gym," Vinny said. He handed the ice cream back to her; they were each taking a few licks before handing it back.
"That's what stupid boys call it, but I'm a girl, so I'm right," she said, smiling and taking another lick of the ice cream. He nodded in agreement and they continued to share the ice cream until it was finished.
"I'll race ya," Vinny said once they were done with their treat. Judy grinned and agreed.
"Last one there's a rotten leg!" Judy yelled and took off.
"Hey, I didn't say go!" Vinny said and followed her.
"I win!" Judy shouted triumphantly.
"I lost to a girl," Vinny said, sitting in the sand.
"Let's play," Judy said, expecting her new friend to join her. When he didn't, she knew something was wrong.
"Come on Vinny, let's play," she repeated.
"You can play. I'm gonna stay here," he said.
"I won't tell anyone that you lost to a girl," she said, smiling and offering her hand to Vinny. He grinned and the two ran hand in hand to the middle of the jungle gym.
"Let's play 'venture!" Vinny said.
"Can I be a pirate?" Judy asked.
"Girls can't be pirates. They have to be princesses," Vinny said.
"Can I be a pirate princess?" Judy asked. She wanted so badly to be a pirate.
"Fine, you can be a pirate princess. Now come on, the boat has to leave," Vinny said and helped Judy climb to the top of the jungle gym, err, pirate ship. Together they played for hours. The two ended up on robot Pirate Island, where the evil robots were trying to kidnap the pirate princess. After much bravery, Vinny's life was taken, but not before Judy was saved.
"Judy, it's time to go sweetie," Judy heard her mom yell.
"But I don't wanna," Judy pleaded. Her mother stood by their makeshift pirate ship with a stern look on her face, and Jude realized she was serious.
"You can play with your little friend some other time," Judy's mom said.
"But Vinny's my bestest friend," Judy said, hugging him. That's the thing with kids, in only an instant, they're best friends.
"You'll see him tomorrow, now come on. I need to start dinner," her mom said. Judy's eyes began to tear up as she said goodbye to her friend.
"I'll see you tomorrow Judy," Vinny said and watched as she disappeared into her mother's car.
For the next few weeks, Judy would come to the park, sometimes staying for the whole day. She was just waiting for even a glimpse of her best friend.
Soon those weeks turned into months and months turned into years until Vinny finally faded into obscurity, along with Judy's other best friends.
I hope you like that. I know its short, but so is her life so far. Each chapter grows with the characters' growth. So next Thursday, expect a longer chapter. :D