True Friendship (A Short Story, Part 3)

Well, everybody, here you have it. The final part of this short story!

Thrilled that she had no studies for the whole day since her tutor had called in sick, Bridget was excited that she could finally play with the children outside. She saw Ava was among them and smiled.

“Hi Bridget!” she called. As Bridget came over, Ava gestured to the kids around them.   

“We needed one more person, so I’m really glad you came! We were going to play soccer again.”

“Okay, let’s do it!” Bridget said.

A happy hour passed, and then another, and another, and soon Bridget had completely lost track of time.

“How about we play marbles?” someone suggested after a long game of tag, and everyone immediately agreed. 

“That doesn’t sound fun at all! Can’t we do something different?” Bridget asked as she glared slightly at the boy standing across from her. 

“Aw come on! You’re the only one who doesn’t want to play marbles with us, why not?”

“Because it’s not fun.” Bridget stated adamantly. “Besides, why do you get to pick what we do? Why can’t I choose?”

“Because you’ve picked the past two games we’ve played!” Another kid whined. 

“Come on guys,” the boy said, “Let’s just play without her. We have enough people for a fun game anyway.” 

“Well, I–” Bridget suddenly stopped herself. This isn’t working. I really do want to play with them… and I’m not treating them like I would want to be treated. Why is it so hard sometimes! She bit her lip, and hung her head. 

“Fine,” she finally blurted out. “I’ll play marbles with you. I guess it sounds fun anyway, maybe.” she mumbled. 

“Then come on, let’s go!” Ava said as she walked over to Bridget. Guiding her by the arm, she sat her down next to a pile of marbles, and began drawing a circle in the dirt with a pointy stick. 

“That was nice of you, to play even when you didn’t want to.” Ava began, and looked at Bridget a little inquisitively. Bridget shook her head.

“I just– I don’t want to be selfish. I really don’t try to, but it’s just that… oh never mind.” she looked away sadly.

“What is it?” Ava asked gently. 

“It’s hard to learn how to be kind to others when there’s no one to practice on!” Bridget said. “I spend almost all day with my tutor, Miss Byrne, then have to study when I get home. And mother is always trying to get me into these fancy classes with special teachers, and all of that stuff that I really don’t care about.

“I don’t have any brothers or sisters, father works all the time, and almost everything mother cares about is how well I’m doing with school. I guess maybe I get so lonely and bored that I don’t think clearly.” Bridget laughed shakily, and her cheeks flushed.

“Well, it can be hard to be a peacemaker, but I think you did a good job today.”

“What’s a peacemaker?” Bridget asked. 

“You know, someone who tries to find a compromise. When you do something that will work for everyone.” They were both silent after that, and the other children joined them to play. 

About ten minutes later, Bridget began to feel thirsty. She had left a water bottle a little ways from where she was sitting, so she jumped up to get it.

A peacemaker, Bridget went back to her conversation with Ava as she walked. She looked back at the happy, laughing children, and realized just how much fun she was having. I want to be a peacemaker more, then. It’s so much easier to find a compromise and be able to play together, than to be selfish and lonely. 

“Thank you God, for helping me to be a peacemaker. Please keep helping me.” she whispered to herself. 

As she rejoined the children, she looked over at Ava and smiled. Ava returned one to her that was even bigger. 

“Your turn, Bridget!” a young boy exclaimed.

At that moment, Bridget realized that something was different. She didn’t feel like a stranded outcast that nobody liked. The ever–present sense of loneliness had left her completely.

She was surrounded by children her age who were actually playing with her. Those children were her friends. Unable to contain a laugh of sheer joy, she clasped her hands together.

——

And here we have the conclusion of “True Friendship”. Although this story is definitely geared towards young children, it can still be a good reminder of what Paul tells us to do in Ephesians 4:2-3, when he talks about Christian unity. He says, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

I had lots of fun writing this, and it was also a huge way for me to practice implementing a bunch of things I’ve been learning about writing lately.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and please, let me know in the comments if you would be interested in reading more fiction writing of mine (for teens/adults) in the future!