Soon

Prologue

"Abigail," my mother said, pushing me forward. My eyes set on the ground. "This is my friend Karren, and her daughter, Kimberly," my mom said, nudging me forward. Glancing up I saw a woman in her late-twenties standing next to a girl who was four or five. The girl who was my age had dirty blonde hair that fell forward as she extended her hand. Her hazel green eyes laced with boredom. 

"I'm Kimberly," she piped. Her mother bent down and whispered in her ear. Kimberly gave a slight nod. Her mother and mine walked over to a bench leaving us alone by the slide. Pushing her hair back, she looked me up and down. Eyes full of curiosity. "What's your name," she asked.

"Abigail," I muttered, uninterested.  Despite my bad attitude, her smile never faltered. "Wanna play a game," she asked. Eyeing her suspiciously I nodded. Mischievously she began, "Okay! So see that boy over there....." Following her gave I saw a boy with bleach blonde hair and brown eyes. He sat alone and had a rather solemn expression. "Mhhmm" With her smile growing she continued, "You must go over there and kiss him!" Seeing my disgusted expression she said, "Oh come on! If you do it you'll win the game! You don't want to be a loser... Do you? Oh, come on don't be such a chicken."

Frustrated I stalked over to him. "Hi," he said uneasily as I reached him. I sat down beside him. "I'm Abigail," I said extending my hand. "Michael," he said unsurely. Closing my eyes, I swallowed my unease. Quickly I leaned in and pecked him on the lips.  Without opening my eyes I ran towards Kimberly's laughter. One at a time, I opened my eyes. 

Kimberly was on her butt, clutching her stomach. Tears streamed down her face as she continued laughing. "Uhm." Her laughter subsided when she saw my angry expression. "Relax," she chided. Something about her suddenly calm exterior surprised me. It felt like I was bathed in a different light. 

Shaking my head, I looked at her. Her eyes glowing, her hair so carefully pushed aside.  Tears began streaming down my face from the embarrassment of what I'd done.  "Hey," she gently said. Carefully she draped her arm over my shoulder. Together we walked beneath the slide. Grabbing my hand, she brought me down along with her. Her eyes staring into mine. They shined in the faint light.

"Are you okay," she asked cautiously. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out. My face still as stone, I couldn't even bring myself to nod. The tears still streamed. Instead of looking at me with pity, her eyes said something else. Something five-year-old me couldn't comprehend. Her hand wiped away my tears. 

She softly brought her hand under my chin. Taking her time she held it up so I looked her straight into her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal," she shrugged. For a few moments, she stared at the ground, leaving me to ponder the situation. Within a millisecond, she held me in a sudden tight embrace. Immediately, there were butterflies fluttering. She was comfort, it was like she knew I just needed some small gesture to make me feel okay.  It felt like something had awakened in me, but what could that possibly be?

To my dismay, she pulled away, but despite the bittersweet feeling, I couldn't help but smile. From that moment on, I saw her in a different light. She looked so beautiful, so perfect. But none of my feelings made sense, I was still at an age where I was so young and naive. But I knew one thing, I never wanted her to leave.