Liora felt anxious as she walked into the church lobby. It was very noisy and chaotic with kids running around and laughing. Liora felt overwhelmed and unable to focus. She had a sudden rush of sympathy for Ranga. She wondered if he felt like running away every time he came into the church. He seemed to be handling things well and she felt proud of him.
Jason had texted her once school was over to remind her that his sister would be meeting her. Liora scanned the crowd of kids in hopes of seeing a teenage girl who looked to be about 14. She walked into the reading room to look for Ms. Ellen. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and instantly knew this was Jason's sister. They had the same deep brown eyes but Christina's eyes held a look of mischief and excitement. Instead of Jason's sweet smile, Christina had a wide grin that seemed to take over her entire face. Liora quickly saw how she could have befriended the entire high school. Lightness and life seemed to spill out of her and spread around the room.
"Hi! It's so good to meet you!" Christina bubbled. "Jason's told me a lot about you."
Liora was startled when Christina wrapped her in a big hug but the younger girl's friendliness was disarming. She found herself hugging Christina back. An involuntary smile crossed Liora's face. Christina was like a warm beam of sunshine that shone directly upon Liora, melting away her shyness and anxiety. Her warmth was impossible to resist and Liora found herself hoping that they would be friends.
"I can't wait to see Ranga," Christina continued. "I met him when his family first moved here but it's been a few months since I've seen him. I have been going to the drama club after school, as well as the glee club. I'm also playing soccer on the Varsity squad. I've been playing soccer since I was a little kid, mainly on the rec league teams but I played in middle school as well. So, I decided to try out for Varsity. I was actually surprised that I made it. But everyone on the team is really nice. It's kind of tough be a freshman on the Varsity squad but I really enjoy it. We didn't have practice today though so I told Jason I could come help out. And I wanted to meet you. Jason said you were really nice."
Liora wondered if Christina ever took a breath. She noticed, however, that Christina faced her when speaking and she seemed to be making a conscientious effort to speak slower than normal. Liora sensed that words normally spilled out of Christina at a dizzying speed. Christina seemed full to bursting with words and excitement, like a water balloon about to explode. Yet she was careful to look at Liora when she spoke and made sure she could read her lips. Liora realized that Jason must have told his sister about Liora's hearing loss. It also hit her that Christina had mentioned that Jason had been talking about her. She recalled how everyone she had met the day before had referred to her as Jason's friend, even though they were only acquaintances at best. She had no time to ponder the implications of this before Christina spotted Ranga and they hurried over to say hello.
Ranga was huddled in a corner and again seemed overwhelmed. His face brightened when he saw Liora and a look of relief swept over him. He eagerly got up and headed towards the study before Liora could even say anything. The two of them sat on the couch with a short story from The Jungle Book. Liora wondered if he was familiar with the story. She made a mental note to ask Kartika if she had any English language books with stories from Indonesia that they could read together.
Christina took a book from the shelf in the study and sat on the loveseat on the other side of the room. Liora remembered her previous fears about Christina trying to take over. That didn't seem to be the case. She wondered again what Jason had said to his sister. She made a mental effort to push those thoughts from her mind so she could focus on helping Ranga. She would have plenty of time to ponder them later that night when she was in the privacy of her own bedroom. She didn't want to get distracted now. She looked at the book and began to read.
Liora was quickly caught up in the story of Mowgli meeting Baloo for the first time and of the long-suffering Bagheera finding them and once again having to come to his rescue. The story seemed to fascinate Ranga as well. His voice filled with enchantment as he read along with Liora, repeating the lines of the story. Time and space faded away. Liora and Ranga were experiencing Mowgli's world together, laughing and gasping at the same parts in the story. The cozy study faded away. Even Christina's presence faded from their minds. Instead, they were wandering the wilds of the Indian jungle, meeting bears and jaguars and running away from apes living in crumbling stone temples. When the story finally ended, they were suddenly back in the study. Christina was still reading, lost in a story of her own.
Liora glanced at the clock. Reading camp had ended twenty minutes ago. She wondered why no one had come looking for them. Then the door opened and Ranga's parents came in. Liora saw with relief that they were smiling.
Ranga jumped off the couch, smiling. "Mama!" He ran over and leaped into his mother's arms and gave her a big hug. Then he looked to his father and called, "Ayah!", reaching his arms out to him. His father gathered him up and placed him on top of his shoulders. Ranga smiled broadly, looking the happiest Liora had ever seen. He gave Liora a friendly wave. "Bye, bye, Liora! See you tomorrow!" Liora smiled and waved back. Father and son headed out of the study towards the lobby.
Kartika smiled at Liora and sat on the couch. Christina quickly got up. "It was nice to meet you, Liora. I have to go home now. Jason is picking me up and I don't want to keep him waiting. I will be here tomorrow if you don't mind. Jason has a tennis match tomorrow so he can't make it. I know he wishes he could be here but he has a busy schedule with tennis. He will try to come when he can. But I really enjoyed being here with you and Ranga so I hope he's not able to make it that often." She gave Liora a cheeky smile, said goodbye to Kartika and left.
Liora turned to Kartika. "Ranga is doing really well. I'm sorry we were late. We both got interested in the story and lost track of time."
Kartika smiled reassuringly at Liora. "Ranga really likes you. He talked about you a lot yesterday after we left. And he was very excited to come here today. It is the first time he has been excited about something since we left Indonesia a few months ago. He sees you as his Kakak, his older sister. It has been hard on him since he came here. He started getting ear infections back when we were in Indonesia and was always in and out of the hospital. Then he got very sick with a stomach infection and had to take antibiotics for a long time. The drugs the doctors gave him caused his hearing loss. We took him to different doctors in Indonesia, even to a specialist at a top hospital in Jakarta, but they said nothing could be done. They suggested going to an audiologist."
Kartika choked up for a moment, fighting back tears. She cleared her throat and went on. "My husband was being transferred here for work and we were moving with him. We decided to wait until we came here. Hopefully, we could find someone to help Ranga. We tried to make an appointment with a doctor that works in the hospital here but the wait was so long. This church has a welcoming committee for new immigrants and refugees. When we first arrived, they showed up at our door offering to help us get settled in. They showed us where everything is and offered their assistance in getting Ranga registered for school. We heard about the church reading camp and thought it would be a good experience for our son. It would help him improve his English. He can speak it but he is very shy and afraid he will make a mistake. Jason and his sister were some of the people who first came to see us when we arrived here. Jason told us about you a few days ago and said he hoped you would be willing to talk to Ranga and help him. You have been an answer to our prayers and we greatly appreciate your help."
Liora smiled, her heart warmed by Kartika's words. "I am happy to help. I am glad that Ranga sees me as a big sister because I see him as my little brother. He is so sweet. And he speaks English well. He has no reason to be afraid that he will make a mistake or be shy about speaking. But I understand because I am also shy. I don't talk to many people, especially not in school. I mostly read books when I have free time. To be honest, I am surprised that Jason talked to you about me. We had a class together last year but we've never really talked. I didn't realize that he even knew I was hard of hearing. He found me in the library at lunchtime to ask me if I would be willing to help Ranga with his reading." Liora hesitated. "I almost said no," she suddenly confessed. "But something told me to say yes and I am glad I did. I am glad I met Ranga...and you."
Kartika smiled gently. "I am glad I met you as well. You are a very sweet person and I think there are many people who would like to be your friend....if you would let them. I am glad you took the chance to open up and offer to help Ranga. He likes you a lot, as I said before." She gazed meaningfully at Liora. "I think Jason really wants to be your friend."
Liora felt her cheeks warm and shook her head reflexively. "Jason's just nice to everyone. And he likes to help people. He's always volunteering. He just thought I could help Ranga. And he probably felt sorry for me. He's always talking to the kids in our school who don't have any friends," she went on, half-defensively.
Kartika shook her head and smiled. "I think you already know that's not true. He didn't start talking to you because he pitied you. When he mentioned you before, it sounded like he had been wanting to talk to you for a while but you never gave him the chance. And he's making a point of having his sister get to know you. He wants to be your friend. Christina does too. The question is whether you will accept their friendship."
Kartika looked at the clock. "They are probably growing impatient with me. I enjoyed talking with you but I need to get going. I wanted to tell you that we made an appointment for Ranga with Dr. Bronsky on Monday. Would you be willing to talk to him about it when you see him tomorrow? Ranga is feeling nervous. He's never been to an audiologist before. And he's worried about going to a doctor for his ears. His ear infections were very painful and lasted for a long time. Now he hates having his ears touched or even looked at. Even when I wanted to put ear drops in his ears after he had been swimming this summer, he refused. It would help if you talked to him and let him know about your experience."
Liora quickly agreed. She was a bit sad that Kartika was leaving but she was ready to stop talking about Jason. Kartika's words brought up a turmoil of undefined emotions in Liora. She somewhat resented Kartika's idea that she was lonely because she was rejecting people. But deep in her heart, she knew Kartika was right. Hadn't she often felt that Jason wanted to talk to her? But she had been so quick to block out any opportunity for conversation, to the point that he had to track her down in order to speak with her.
Kartika's voice cut into her thoughts. "I'm glad we got a chance to talk. Thank you for everything you are doing for Ranga. We will see you tomorrow." She stood up, then hesitated and leaned in toward Liora. Her voice was quiet and gentle. "I know some of what I said may have been hard for you to hear. But you will never know if someone wants to be your friend unless you give them a chance. Don't be afraid to open up." She smiled one last time and walked out the door.
Liora slowly gathered her things, giving herself a chance to collect her thoughts. The church was quiet and empty when she stepped into the hall. Out in the lobby, she found Ms. Ellen trying to balance several boxes of books in her arms. She quickly stepped forward.
"Here, let me help you," Liora said. She grabbed the top two boxes of books. Ms. Ellen sighed and smiled. "Thank you, Liora. That was very helpful. What are you still doing here? I hope we didn't keep you too late."
"Oh, it's fine," Liora responded. "Ranga and I got wrapped up in the story we were reading and didn't realize how late it was. And then Mrs. Sukarno and I were talking. She's really nice."
"Yes, she is. The whole family is nice. You should ask Mrs. Sukarno about Indonesia when you get the chance. They come from Bandung, a resort city about two hours away from the capital of Jakarta. It's surrounded by volcanoes. She says it's really beautiful. I'm sure she would love to share some of her experiences with you," replied Ms. Ellen.
Liora helped Ms. Ellen carry the boxes of books out to her car. Ms. Ellen thanked her and waited until Liora got in her own car before driving away. Liora sat for a few minutes, her heart a tumult of emotions. Thoughts were crowding her brain, fighting for space. Kartika's words about opening up to others and allowing them to be her friends rang in her mind. One moment she felt resentful of Kartika's words, then the next moment she felt grateful that Kartika would tell her the truth. Liora knew that Kartika only wanted the best for her.
But did Jason really want to be her friend? That seemed a little hard for her to believe. Jason seemed to have everything going for him. He was popular but in the best way. Everyone liked him because he was a genuinely nice person. He was athletic and a good student. Why would he want to spend time with Liora? Liora had none of those qualities. Okay, she tried to be nice and she did care for others. But she knew most people would characterize her as aloof and reserved.
Liora's thoughts flashed to Christina. Why had Jason wanted her to meet his sister? And why had Christina seemed like she wanted to be friends with her? It wasn't like she needed friends. Jason had already said she knew half the school. And Christina had said herself that she was involved in several activities. She must be meeting plenty of people through the clubs she was part of. And she surely had lots of friends on the soccer team. Liora had no doubt that Christina had breezed through the Varsity soccer tryouts. It seemed that she was naturally athletic, just like her brother.
Just then, Liora felt her phone vibrate. She picked it up and noticed she had a text message from a number she didn't recognize. When she opened it, she saw the message was from Christina.
Hi! It's Christina, Jason's sister. I asked him for your number. I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed meeting you today. I am glad that I will get to spend more time with you and Ranga tomorrow. I hope I didn't talk your ear off. I am sure my brother told you I am a talker. Hopefully, we can chat more soon. If you ever want to hang out, let me know. Have a great night. See you tomorrow!
Three smiley faces followed the last sentence. Liora couldn't help but smile. Everything about the message seemed so like Christina. Her personality imbued the text. Liora could almost picture Christina typing it, her fingers flying over the keyboard. She approached life with eagerness and with an energy she couldn't suppress. It was just the opposite of Liora's hesitation and reserve. They were such different people. Could they really become friends?
Liora thought about waiting till she got home to respond to the text but knew she would probably forget. She quickly typed back a message.
It was good to meet you too. No worries about talking my ear off....LOL....I enjoyed talking with you. Looking forward to seeing you and Ranga tomorrow.
Liora quickly hit send before she had a chance to think too much about what she had written. She knew if she read over her words before sending them, she would decide her message sounded awkward or weird and want to edit it. Then she wouldn't be satisfied with her edits and would keep making changes until she ended up not sending it at all. That had happened to Liora before. Her inner critic was so strong that it stopped her from attempting most things for fear that she would make a mistake or would get embarrassed or rejected. Then she would have to deal with the consequences of missed friendships or lost opportunities. Liora wanted to take the risk and make friends. She was tired of living in fear.
Liora drove home, deep in thought. She was happy to have met Christina. She hoped they could be friends. She was also happy that Kartika was reaching out to her. She appreciated her advice though her words had stung at times. She looked forward to continuing to get to know her and Ranga. Ranga was so sweet and Liora wanted to help him as much as possible. It felt weird to be in the position of a mentor. Even though she had younger siblings at home, they were much more independent than she was and she often felt as though she was the younger one. She truly felt like a big sister to Ranga and it was a good feeling. Life was changing for Liora in a good way. She prayed it would continue.