That day, I was returning from church with other children like and found myself at a playground where children were allowed to play volleyball.
Why volleyball? No one knew, but the children enjoyed playing sothing like that.
I attended a church school that had even more restrictions than I had at ho, and only on Sundays were we allowed to be children for a few hours, rather than the people we were seen as at that ti.
Among all the children on that playground, one boy stood out, who had a different appearance and different values.
He was probably not a student at the church school and behaved completely differently.
The playground itself was open to the public and any children could visit it, but when children from the church school ca to the playground, certain rules were enforced that everyone present had to follow.
The church had special privileges in the city. The church respected everyone else, and everyone else respected the church.
Why were they given privileges in the first place? I still don’t know, but everyone respected the church, and it, having power, maintained harmony among all strata of society.
Our city was one of the most peaceful in the country, and cri accounted for only 0.1% of all officially recorded cases.
We even hasn’t criminal gangs, and when sothing happened, the problem was solved quickly and it was said that the school’s senior managent was involved in it, but they always denied these allegations.
The school was a force that also protected us, and it was this little boy who managed to find a way in.
His na is Saho.
He was probably my age and was very active.
Every ti I saw him, he tried to make friends with the other children at the church school, but they were afraid and kept their distance.
Sadly, the other children ignored him too.
I behaved the sa way as the other children at school, but for so reason, he started coming up to every Sunday and asking to be his friend.
It scared and nervous , but in the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and told him the reasons why I could never be his friend.
The more rude I was, the more he started paying attention to , which only annoyed more, but one day he brought a book with him and gave it to .
It was a children’s fantasy book, almost brand new and even slling pleasantly of citrus.
At first, I didn’t want to take it, but... it was very interesting to learn sothing new, so I accepted the book and thanked him.
When I read it, I was delighted and reread the story several tis.
I had never read anything like it, as all the books I knew were religiously oriented, and only a few of them had a scientific basis.
For , it was a different world, and I wanted to learn more about it.
I thanked the boy for the gift, and he found a few more interesting books that he was going to give , but I refused and asked to borrow them for a certain period of ti.
Over ti, our relationship improved, and we beca good friends.
He introduced to all the joys of being a child and gave incredible emotions.
Although it wasn’t much, it was nice to spend ti with him.
We read a lot together, had fun, and played various gas that I had never heard of before.
My mood improved, and even my family noticed it.
My father sensed sothing suspicious in my behavior, but in general, he allowed to be myself at that mont and did not express his thoughts about my personality change.
Being with that boy made happy; even two hours a week were almost magical for .
Once he brought so very tasty tangerines, which we both enjoyed eating, and during the al we had a conversation.
- (Saho). "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
- (). "I don’t know... My mom told that the best gift for a woman is to have a good husband and spend her whole life with him as a housewife. I guess that’s what I’ll be."
- (Saho). "That’s boring. Wouldn’t you like to be a cool writer or, for example, a botanist like my mom? You like that kind of thing."
- (). "Yes, but... my father won’t allow it. He said that I should grow up faster and be a model wife for my future husband... I don’t know what that ans, but I need to try hard so that the hopes placed on are not in vain...
- (Saho). "Your father is strange, and I don’t understand these adult words, but I want you to be happy and enjoy this ti like I do."
- (). "You’re no less strange than my father, haha."
- (Saho). "Hey! I’m better than your dad. I don’t have an evil look, and everyone loves ."
- (). "I’ve seen how everyone loves you, and as a result, your only friend is... Runo from the church school."
- (Saho). "Damn... you’re right."
We started laughing, enjoying delicious tangerines and cheerful conversation.
As for Saho’s words about my father, he had seen my friend several tis and was not very happy about our friendly relationship.
The laughter continued for a while, but this ti I was the one who started asking questions.
- (). "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
- (Saho). "I, hah..."
He looked up at the sky lancholically and replied strangely.
- (Saho). "I want to... be your friend."
- (). "Hmm?... But you are my friend."
- (Saho). "..."
I looked him in the eyes and saw sadness in his gaze for just a second, but he imdiately returned to his usual self and we continued to spend ti together.
At the ti, I didn’t understand his words and continued to live as usual.
A week passed, and I couldn’t hold back my emotions to talk to my best friend again, but when I was at the playground, that boy was sohow not there.
It was strange for , because over the past year, he had been there every ti, waiting for her to show up.
My mood instantly worsened, but I continued to wait for him to appear.
A week passed, then two, and soon a month passed, followed by another.
During all this ti, I didn’t see my friend once, and it hurt .
(Had he stopped being my friend?)
I missed him and didn’t understand anything.
A few more days passed, and only by chance did I learn from other students at school that two months ago, after a long struggle with a serious illness, a boy who often visited our Sunday playground... died suddenly after returning ho.
That boy was... Saho.
When I heard this, my heart stopped and I lost consciousness.
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