One | Record and Exist

“Orion, lookie! Mommy made me a flower crown and now I look like a pretty princess!” Little Amaranth Bancroft, with a huge smile on her face, hopped and skipped around the garden like a fairy. She looked purely adorable with her blonde locks tied up in high pigtails swaying in the wind and her fluffy white dress swaying up and down and side-to-side as she constantly dances in a circle.

At the center of a garden was a ginger brown-haired little boy who sported a little mole on his left cheekbone. He sat with his legs stretched out and his hands on the ground in between. Orion Thorley stared at Mara in awe of her charming appearance and dancing.

“Awh, Mara! I wanna be a princess, too!” Orion’s feeling of awe gradually changed to envy the longer he watched Mara floating around.

“No, no! You–” Mara quickly points her finger at Orion. “–are a boy! You cannot be a princess, no!”

Just as tears were welling up in Orion’s eyes, Mara stops him and places her hands on her hips. “Hey, don’t cry, okay?! You can be my dook!”

Taking a pause, Orion asked Mara, “What’s a dook?”

“It’s a… uh…” Mara glanced her eyes to the side as if the answer was lying there on the ground.

“Um… Like a royal, but not really! Dooks have lots of money, and they… They help the kings and queens when they are in trouble!” Whilst Mara exhaled through her nose as a gesture of pride for knowing what duke means, Orion still had a puzzled look on his face. Nevertheless, he was dazed at the idea of being a duke.

Orion immediately jumped up with his hands in the air and landed on his feet well. “Okay! I can be a dook!” The two 5-year-olds grabbed each other’s hands and twirled around the garden happily.

“Will I get a flower crown, too?” Orion innocently asked, beaming with a big smile.

“Uh–” A loud voice could be heard from inside the house. It seems that they were both called by Mara’s mother. They put an end to their playing around and quickly ran inside after smelling the scent of paninis wafting through the air. The children ran to the table and almost grabbed the sandwiches, but two women stopped them. They were left to drool at the sight of the delicacies. Their mothers had prepared it together for the Sunday afternoon snack time.

Both Mara and Orion take after their mothers in appearance. Mara’s mother is a young blonde woman who looks as if she’s still a fresh college student; her stunning looks and sociable attitude making her attractive to everyone’s eyes. Orion’s mother also had similar traits, except for her ginger hair and freckles; she also looks slightly older and more mature than Mara’s mother. Both of them are very caring and love helping out others – this was the reason for their friendship, and how the two families (Bancroft and Thorley) have gotten to know each other.

Their fathers, already relaxing by the picnic table at the veranda, called out to them. Mara’s father was quite a rowdy man despite his plain looks having messy black hair, tall height, and a bit of muscle all around. Like his wife, he also looked like he was just about to turn 20. On the other hand, Orion’s father differs in personality as he seems to be serious and practical in most cases, but gets along well with everyone regardless of his nature. Orion’s father looks mostly similar to Mara’s father except for his light brown hair and more mature impression, making them seem like brothers.

Mara and Orion left the kitchen and hurried along to their fathers, sitting beside their own. After a short while of the four having idle chatter and small talks, the respective mothers joined in.

Orion’s mother was pushing a 3-tier utility cart with wheels – plates of seven paninis on the first and second tiers, and a tin of biscuits and plastic cups on the third tier. Mara’s mother had both of her hands occupied, a pitcher of cucumber juice on her left and another young girl who looks almost identical to Mara holding her right. This was Mara’s sister, Marigold, older only by three years.

The Bancroft and Thorley families were very close companions; they would have get-togethers like this every Sunday afternoon. As usual, they are having a jolly good time with their entertaining chats and scrumptious foods.

It was until their brash elderly neighbor can be heard squabbling with his middle-aged son that their peaceful picnic came to an end. Inasmuch as the elderly man seemed to be almost twice as old as his son, the former’s stature was only half of the latter.

Mara couldn’t help but wonder about the line she’d once heard in a movie, “The older you get, the wiser you are.” It is not exactly that she could understand the word wiser in its entirety, but her mother has mentioned that it’s like being smart enough to know how to make good choices. Observing the quarrel between the father and son, now Mara was not so sure about the validity of the line.

(I don’t know why adults fight, but isn’t it bad to fight? Mommy told me you become smarter when you get older, but… Why is Mr. Wilder always getting angry and breaking things around his house?)

After reflecting on the situation, Mara sat beside Orion and whispered her thoughts to him. “I don’t think Mr. Wilder is smart.”

Orion replied a little bit too loudly, “Mr. Wilder is stupid?” Albeit he was not heard by the rest of the guests, Mara still covered his mouth the second he finished his sentence.

“Ssh, ssh! That’s a bad word!” Mara said with slight anger in her tone, causing Orion to stay silent in fear of irritating her any more.

After a few minutes or so of the two families secretly observing the neighbors’ quarrel, it abruptly halted when the old man began to constantly cough after straining his voice. His timid but caring son was concerned for him and dragged him back to treat him. The old man attempted to free himself from his son’s grip, but his efforts were futile. Peace and silence returned once they had gone inside.

“Praise the heavens we’ve finished eating everything, I would’ve lost my appetite and not eaten at all!” Mara’s dad broke the silence, and slowly, the humorous atmosphere that disappeared after the fight returned. They went on as if nothing had happened.

An hour and a half have passed since they began their picnic. Everyone is currently putting away the plates and cups, cleaning up the whole area as they always do post-picnic.

In actuality, it was the adults who did the cleaning up while the kids were still carrying on with their playing around. Knowing that even if they asked favors of them to help with the chores, undoubtedly they would either not listen or make things messier.

The parents all had the same thought: children will be children. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s only natural. They all came to an agreement ever since their first get-together that the youngsters entertain themselves outside in the garden until the adults finish their tidying up.

“Children,” Orion’s father knelt down to one knee so as to be level with them. “Your parents and I would like to clean up in peace–”

“In peace, so I ask that you have some fun together in the garden.” Mara, Orion, and Mari all grinned and chuckled as they finished off the sentence.

“Yes, papa. You always say the same words before you start cleaning.” Orion rolled his eyes thinking that his father was not aware of it. Orion’s father, while he should’ve been irked at his son’s reaction, patted his head softly instead and displayed a wholesome smile. Orion blushed in embarrassment, although he was happy deep down for the affection he received.

His friends snickered and gained the desire to tease him for his cute reaction, but that went away when their heads were also patted. They too blushed shyly, but not as much as Orion.

After Orion’s father stood up and went on with helping out the other parents, the three kids exchanged long glances at each other as if they were trying to perform telepathy. A minute and a few seconds later, Mari poked at Mara’s shoulder. “Tag, you’re it! Hahahaha~!!”

Mari and Orion quickly dashed out the kitchen door before Mara could process that she was it. Despite this slight handicap, she was fit enough to compensate for the time she took standing still. She ran at the speed of light and was able to make someone else the It in a short amount of time. The game of tag went on for about ten or fifteen minutes before they all laid down on the ground, laughing over how much fun they had.

The sun was covered up by the numerous clouds but it was still a bright day, nonetheless. Without having to worry about the direct sunlight hurting their eyes, they all looked up at the afternoon skies. They talked about their surroundings for a while; the shapes formed in the clouds, the small swallows that kept chirping and chirping, the rustling sound of the leaves on the foliage of the tree, and so on with the ordinary phenomena of nature.

Mari was quite a glutton, so she stood up and left the two best friends on their own so she could go get some candies. Once she had left, Mara spoke up.

“Aww, your girlfriend’s gone away to get food! Why don’t you join her?” Mara teased Orion while holding back her laughter.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Orion’s face turned as red as a tomato. He easily gets too bashful and he hates it.

“But you~ like~ her~” Her holding back failed, and she ended up bursting into laughter. Orion got annoyed in return and shook Mara’s arm harshly, attempting to stop her from laughing. That too, failed miserably.

Eventually, Mara’s giggling subsided and she shifted the topic to something else. They talked about how it would be like to go to school, to meet new friends, and to play with more children. Mara was a little nervous about it surprisingly, even more so that Orion was more excited than her. Nevertheless, they both look forward to the big day.

After about 45 minutes of cleaning up (and lounging around), it was time for the Bancroft family to go home.

“See you again next week!” And so, they all waved each other goodbye. The family got inside the car and drove away. Although the ride home only takes about 5 minutes, Mara did not hesitate to initiate a conversation with her sister.

“Hey, hey. You have school tomorrow, right? Can I come, can I come?” Mara curiously asked while shaking with excitement.

“Huh–? No! If I bring you with me, everyone at school will keep asking me questions about you. I think that’s embarrassing and annoying, so stay home and play on your own!” Mari answered, slightly enraged. As much as she loves her sister, she did not want to imagine what kinds of comments she might hear the next morning.

She’s already built an impression that she’s a cool kid who’s not afraid of anything, even if she gets in trouble. What would happen if everyone saw how kind and protective she really was, bringing along her little sibling? All of them would call her a liar who pretends to be cool so fellow students will want to play with her.

Not wanting to be bothered by her fearful thoughts any longer, she shakes it off. “Mara, I promise that if you won’t go to school with me, we’ll bake pizza together on the weekend. Okay?” Instead of lifting her pinky finger, she reaches out her hand. That’s what they do.

Thinking about it, Mara realized she can always wait to go to school. Plus, her love for pizza is way stronger than her determination to study. “...okay! Deal, captain!” She does a salute gesture and proceeds to shake her hand afterward.

It was already about 4 p.m. when they arrived home to be greeted by a Chartreux cat, Grise. Mara sits beside her feline friend on the sofa and makes herself comfortable. After resting and regaining her energy, Mara stood up and went to take a shower to get rid of the cat furs that stuck to her from playing with her pet.

Dinner time was serene and soothing, accompanied by the delicious meal the mother had prepared for them. On their table was a piping hot serving of lasagna along with a basket of garlic breadsticks.

Mara was full after that delicious meal, but girls always have room for desserts so she ate a leftover cupcake from the refrigerator. She brushed her teeth after eating and hopped onto the bed. While Mara loves socializing with her friends and family, her favorite part of the day is being alone inside her room and reflecting on things that have happened.

Today, she chose to ponder on the fight that Orion’s neighbors had. Of course, she was still a 5-year-old, so her nightly reflections did not take long. But even after a short time of replaying the fight in her head, she came to her own conclusions.

(Um… I really don’t wanna be like Mr. Wilder… I don’t even understand why he’s always mad at everything… Hmm… Aha! I know.)

She smiled to herself.

(I will always be positive and bright and happy, so I will be wise when I’m old!)

Her determination made her smile even bigger.

(I wonder, can I really stay happy when I can’t play as much as I can with Orion? I’m going to school soon, too…)

Another idea popped into her head.

(I think I will spend lots of time with him tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after… And…)

Mara’s thoughts were starting to die down thanks to her drowsiness. Her eyes closed.

(And… We’ll keep playing until… We go to school… So I can stay happy…)

Now sleeping like a log, Mara went on to live in dreamland.