Rose was lost! She couldn't find her mommy or daddy anywhere, and she felt so, so alone.
"Hi." A voice spoke up, softly, and yet it was just a teeny tiny bit deeper than her own voice, and so she looked up and saw a girl about her age with longer, darker hair. "Is everything okay?"
Rose didn't know what to say. 'Don't talk to strangers,' always seemed to mean the adults, and this girl couldn't be any older than she was. "H-Hello."
"Are you lost?" The girl tried again, and Rose wondered if she was really so kind to put up with Rose's unsurety and general panic.
"Y-Yeah, I can't find my mommy or my daddy. I'm lost." Rose pouted, fighting back anymore tears, and just watched the girl, who looked like may be she came from a family looking on at them, a boy just a bit older than the girl, and two parents.
"I'll help you then." The black haired girl admitted, "Being lost sucks." She sighed as she shifted on her feet, "I'm Juleka. Do you remember where you last saw your mommy and daddy?"
"N-No. I-I'm Rose." She fought off sobs that felt completely natural in the span of only a few moments, "May be, by the animals. I was looking at all the fluffy looking bunny rabbits and the bright feathers of the chickens when... I knew that I was with them."
"Okay, Rose. Let's check the barns then. Did you see the goats yet?" Juleka asked as she offered her hand, "Take my hand, so that you don't get anymore lost, alright?"
"O-Oh, sure." She muttered as she reached out and grabbed Juleka's hand in her smaller one, "I haven't seen the goats yet or the cows. They have cows, right? And puppies and kittens and sheep too?"
"I think so." Juleka answered, "We'll try the barns, and may be get a chance to look at some cool animals while we look for your mom and dad."
Rose stayed close as Juleka led her through all of the barns, and neither of them spotted her parents.
"Juleka?" The girl's mother called, "Try the grandstand. Page her parents. Do you know where it's at?"
"Oh, that's a great idea. Have you been near the grandstand yet, Rose?" Juleka asked, and Rose remembered that she was lost and while she'd been looking for her parents, it had become almost fun to walk through the barns at the fair with her new friend or at least Rose will call her a friend.
"N-No. I don't think so." Rose frowned as she tried to think of what that looked like as Juleka carefully led the way past the barns and towards the center of the fair.
"It's a bit of a long walk, but we'll be fine." Juleka reasoned as she seemed more capable of doing right now than Rose did as she worried her lip between her teeth and felt that same urge to cry again.
"We're almost there. May be your parents will buy you a milkshake later? The milk is so fresh here." Juleka murmured as she finally slid just right through the crowds that the grandstand came into view.
"Y-Yeah, they might." Rose smiled up at her, "What's your favorite flavor of milkshake?"
"Chocolate." Juleka smiled back at her, "Chocolate's the best kind of milkshake."
"I like strawberry." Rose murmured, "It's pink, and it's so fruity." Her smile grew wider at the thought.
"I hope that they have strawberry then." She answered.
"I want to give chocolate another try since you like it, and you're my newest friend." Rose declared, confidently, as she kept up with Juleka as she led the way closer to where Rose could page her parents.
"Then I'll try strawberry if you try chocolate." Juleka spoke up, and she couldn't help how soft her voice went. It was almost as if she'd become more than a guide, that she'd become a friend too, and it left her belly and chest warm.
"Okay." Rose announced as Juleka held open the door for her, and then her newest friend squealed, "Mommy! Daddy!" Her parents looked like they'd just been about to page her when Rose called for them and so her father waved the pager off.
"Rose, you're okay." Her mother sighed in relief, and Rose glanced up at Juleka. She took the hint and dropped Rose's hand and watched as daughter and parents were united.
"Thank you, young lady, for bringing our daughter back to us." The father spoke up, "You're not lost, are you?"
"No, I'm fine. Mom, Dad, and my brother were right behind us, so that I didn't get lost." She smiled up at him, "I'm just glad that she's made it back to you."
"Mommy, Daddy!" Rose spoke up, "Can Juleka spend the rest of the fair with us?"
"It depends when her mommy and daddy say." Rose's mother spoke up, gently, and Juleka smiled as she held up a finger and vanished outside to get permission. It sounded like too much fun to pass up, and she knew that her parents would stay close the whole time and look out for her.
Neither of the girls nor their parents realized quite what a friendship this one would become or that the two girls would end up starting up school in the same class that school year. A whole lifetime of a friendship was just starting, and neither girl could be happier about it.