Peraya Delight

I WAS AFRAID!

The first time I saw him was when I was 10 years old. He and his family had just moved into our neighborhood. His house was just opposite to mine.

I still remember how he looked that day. His eyes were puffy as if he was crying. The corner of his eyes had dry tears. He was standing behind his mother's long legs when his parents came to visit us at the request of my father because his father and my father were colleagues in the same company and best friends. Coincidence, isn't it?

He was two years younger than me, you guys should have seen him that day. He was soo cute.

I still remember the first conversation we had on that day.

*Flashback*

"Son, go near him. You don't want to play with him?" The little boy just stared at me with tears brimming from his eyes.

"No Mom! I want to go home! Our old home! I miss there!" The boy started to cry behind his mother's legs.

I looked at my mom who just smiled at me back and telling me to go and console the crying boy. But, I don't even know his name. Maybe I can ask him, right?

"Annie, just come along with me. My son will talk with him na." My mother said to aunty.

Aunty looked at me and my mother before she smiled and left me and him in the front garden.

I slowly walked to him who was still crying silently.

"Hi, there! Why are you crying? Do you know? Boys don't cry like this. Boys should be strong and adventurous!" I tried to cheer him up.

He looked at me with shining eyes as he rubbed away the traces of his tears from his cheek by the back of his hands.

"Really?" He asked me while tilting his head aside. Soo cute!

I nodded my head and smiled.

"But...but.... I miss my home! I want to stay with grandpa and grandma. I want to play with them and eat blueberries in our garden. I miss my old home. I miss grandma and grandpa." He said as a small sob came out from his mouth.

I don't know why but it really hurts to see him cry.

I went towards him and took his arms and led him to my back yard. He didn't even protest.

I made him sit on the bench near a tree and rushed towards the blueberry tree in our garden and puck a few from it and rushed towards him.

When I came back I saw him looking at the various colored roses in our garden with a small smile on his face. I felt very happy seeing the small smile on his face.

"Hey!" I called out. He looked at me with confusion.

I asked him to give his hands and he complied with confusion. Soon his face glowed like a star seeing the blueberries.

"You have blueberries here?!" He asked with an enthusiastic voice.

I laughed and nodded my head.

"Now don't cry ok? Whenever you want you can have blueberries from here and I promise you that I will request your parents to visit your grandparents every weakened so that you can see them, deal?"

"Deal!!"

I laughed as he started eating the blueberries as if he hadn't eaten anything for a week.

"So, what is your name?" I asked him. I haven't known anything about him yet.

He looked at me with those shiny dark brown eyes and smiled before he answered.