A/N I told my FanFiction buddy I had an idea to have Nia miss a friend in Kenya and she suggested Kwaku. Timmy belongs to me, as does Erica. I just created him to be a human friend for Erica. If you've read my Thomas Tales, you know about Thomas's human friend Janie.
One day, Erica had to shunt some cars to Edward's branch line. When she dropped them off, she heard Nia sniffling. As she was leaving, she stopped to give Nia a buffer press.
"What's wrong, Nia?", Erica asked her sad friend.
"I'm homesick," Nia sobbed, huge water droplets falling from her black eyes. "I miss Kwaku, my good friend in Kenya."
"There, there,", the Kenyan tank engine's driver said, drying her tears with a cloth, "You've got your friends here, but it's all right to miss you old friend." He gently rubbed her cheeks and pressed the cloth to her eyes to wipe her tears away.
Nia sniffled again, fresh tears filling her eyes as she cried more, then said, "I wish my shed hadn't burnt down. Then, I'd be with my friend still.", her lips trembling from her sorrow.
Her driver said, as he continued to wipe her tears away, "Let it all out, Nia. Just cry, and I'll wipe your eyes, as I am now. I accept your emotions and feel you've got the right to cry and be comforted in your unhappiness. I'm not one to judge someone's feelings, just tune in to them.".
After a while, Nia finished her cry and her driver softly patted her last tears away, dapping them from her damp eyes. She smiled at her driver and her friend, to let them know she felt better. The orange tank engine watched Erica leave.
Erica went back to Knapford. She saw a young boy train-spotting.
"Hello, Erica", he said. "I've been watching you for a while now. However, when I spotted you before, you were too busy or something for me to talk to you. I'm Timmy. I'm kind, understanding and a railfan, especially tank engines. I just love tank engines for some reason. If I ever find you crying when your crew aren't around, I'm going to climb on your buffers, take out a hanky and dry your eyes.".
Erica smiled at the boy, saying, "I'd like that so much. What do you know about me?"
"Well," replied Timmy. "I once saw you crying your eyes out on a siding, and you said it was because of your big brother being in a coma.".
She said, "My "big brother" in that case is my best friend and we adopted each other as "brother" and "sister". He had a dreadful accident and was in a coma for a bit. Later on, I had a boiler explosion that gave me one. Us engines, living ones like my "brother", many of my actual siblings, like my sister Rosie, or my friends here, could die from that. But mine wasn't the kind where the smokebox flies off. That's like decapitation for us. Driver told me decapitation means getting your head cut off. For me, that's my smokebox because I've got a face on the door.".
Timmy said, "I remember Thomas sniffling and weeping once when I saw him about his little sister in a coma. "I guess that was when you had the boiler explosion. I want to be understanding of someone's emotions and I use my emotions to connect with others. I'm observant and a good listener. My emotions are powerful, as I'm a sensitive boy. I understand what it's like to be overwhelmed with emotion. I'm not afraid of emotion, so I'll comfort you until you feel better when you're sad if I need to.".
Erica said, "I've got a sensitive soul, even if I'm quite happy. I've had a rough life, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by things, too. Like I have a meltdown and cry if something's really loud, like Gordon's whistle if I'm unprepared and hear it suddenly. Sometimes, I've been called a cry-engine for that. James called me that because of my endless tears when I found out my actual oldest brother was scrapped due to a bad accident he had on the heritage railroad I came from. Railroad's a word for railway, back in my homeland."
Timmy said, "I learned what a railroad is from your sister, Rosie, before she moved to Vicarstown."
Erica said, "I need to go be a Really Useful Engine in Knapford Yard again, now.". They said good-bye to each other.
Later on, Thomas whistled as he came to Knapford Yards. Erica heard and whistled back, happily. Thomas smiled, thinking about how happy his "little sister" was. He said he wanted to stay for a bit, thinking maybe she could play Hide and Peep.
Erica steamed towards the entrance of the yard, her cheeky smile filling her face, knowing her "brother" was there. "I'm done with my jobs for the day. One was taking some cars to Edward's branch line and while I was there, I had to give Nia a buffer press because she missed Kwaku and was homesick. Guess what happened today! I got a new friend, a boy named Timmy who loves tank engines. Can you play Hide and Peep?"
Her "brother" said, "I thought you were just happy because you could play, but it's Timmy, too. I know you love to play that with me.".
Thomas played Hide and Peep with his "little sister" until it was time for them to end it. Then, they went to their sheds until their next day began.
A/N My FanFiction buddy said Timmy would be 8+, probably, based on him being tall enough to touch Erica's eyes.