ANNAN 'S ADVENTURE

第1話 A chance meeting

I’ｍ Annan. My hometown is in Ethiopia in Africa.

Recently, I moved to America to my mom's hometown.

I used to wake up to the sound of birds singing, but before I knew it, I am now woken up by the sound of car horns.

A new school, new friends and new teachers ....

I skipped school today. Why? I don't fit in at school.

When I catch the students looking at me they suddenly turn away.

They are whispering about me behind my back.

I want to have many friends, but I don't have the confidence because

my face is not the same color as my classmates.

.... How do I make friends?

I think long and hard about making friends while staring blankly at the sky.

After a short while the sky is getting dark and a little sprinkle of rain starts to fall.

So I rush under the tree with my bag and take a break.

My clothes don't get wet but my hair gets soaked, just like after taking a shower.

Just then, a woman who is sheltering under the same tree gives me her hanky.

"Are you ok? If you would like, you can wipe your hair."

I can't answer her. I can't instinctively answer anything.

She has warm colored hair and rosey cheeks.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you. My name is NIna."

I hadn't had this feeling of friendship in America, until now.

"What is your name?"

I take her hanky and answer, "I'm Annan. I go to a school near here."

Nina asked him, "Why aren't you at school?"

So he answered her he hadn't been able to fit in at school.

"Don't worry. I didn't have any friends when I changed schools either.

After she finished talking, she smiled and gave me some chocolate.

I talked with her for a long time.

She started to speak with a sparkle in her eyes.

"My favorite thing is...."

At that moment I thought that her eyes were very beautiful, like pearls, and I could see them directly in front of me.

This is when I knew I had my first friend.

After a while it stopped raining so it was time to go home.

I want to talk more with you, so she promised we would meet again sometime.

And so it was time to say goodbye.

We waved hands until we couldn't see each other's faces.

The sky changed to light purple while I was on my way home.

On the walk home, my feet felt lighter and the journey shorter.

"I will try to go to school tomorrow."

I said to myself.

I couldn’t make many friends in the first few days.

Staring at the concrete ground with my head down, I plod my way home from school.

Then I raised my face, and I am right in front of SORIA.

I found cherry flavored chocolate, a limited flavor from New York.

I felt that I wanted to eat the chocolate with Nina.

The more I think about it, the more I want to meet her.

I noticed that my feet were already pointing towards the tree where Nina and I first met.

I found a pendant which seemed very familiar. It had a picture.

And inside there was a photo taken of Nina and her mother of their smiling faces.

I'm not sure ... I remember her words when she told me about the things she loved.

She said, “I love my family. There are three people in my family: my dad, my brother and I. My mother died when I was an elementary school student. This locket is a memory of her and I will treasure it for the rent of my life."

So she had kept her mom's locket.

I think that I should send to her‼ But I don't know anything about her.

I don't have any way to look for her.

Well, how can Annan look for Nina?