June 30, 2007

Rianne Evans had no friends. It wasn’t because she was mean, ugly or unfriendly. It was simply because she was shy. She just couldn’t gather the confidence to talk to other children. She had no friends in her neighbourhood, nor at her school. She spent day after day in loneliness, with no one to talk to or play with.

It was a Tuesday morning and Rianne was at school. Her teacher was teaching Geography and in doing so, boring them all to death. Suddenly, the door opened and in stepped Mrs Dominoe, the administrator, with a young girl. She cleared her throat to announce her presence, startling the almost asleep students. “This is the new girl, Laura Smith. I hope you’ll all be courteous and show her around.” Mrs Dominoe said and left the room.

Laura was blind and always needed someone to take her around. Most of the kids didn’t like doing this, but a few were kind enough to help her.

One day, during recess, Rianne was sitting in the classroom reading a book, when she noticed that Laura was also in the classroom. It was normal for Rianne to stay inside during recess, but why was Laura there, Rianne wondered. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to find out. She kept reading.

After a while, Rianne looked up and saw Laura with her head on her desk. Rianne could contain herself no longer. She plucked up her courage and went towards Laura. “Hi”, she uttered in a tiny voice. Laura looked up. “Hello,” she said. “How come you’re not outside with the others?” inquired Rianne.

“Oh, no one was willing to take me today,” she replied.

“I can take you outside, if you want,” Rianne suggested timidly.

“Oh, would you? I’d love that!” Laura exclaimed. Both of them walked outside, Rianne leading Laura by the hand.

Rianne and Laura became firm friends. Rianne helped Laura go everywhere. Laura, who wanted to know what everything looked like, listened in awe as Rianne described the world to her. Rianne had never had a friend before. Laura was her special friend, special in her own way.