A Very True Story

Once upon a time there were two little girls with dark fluffy hair and big front teeth. They like to read, pass notes, doodle and hang upside-down on the bars at school. One played the violin very well. The other one liked to sing. One was taller and the other was smaller. For many years they sat next to each other in class. Passing notes. Giggling. They had a lot to say to each other. They liked words and found people very interesting.

As they got older, things got more serious. They stopped hanging upside down on the monkey bars at school and started drinking coffee. Their hair was still very fluffy.

The little girls weren't so little anymore. They liked where they were from but they wanted to see the world. They fell in love. With many things and a couple of people. Sometimes they fell out of love. They traveled in separate ways all across the globe. Every once and a while they would send each other a little note. They often thought of each other. It wasn't hard. It was like looking at the sky and remembering the color blue.

After one of the girls fell in love, she took the Trans-Siberian railroad from Japan to Amsterdam. She thought about many things and on her way, she picked up a very warm Russian scarf for the other girl. Then she continued her travels across the world and visited the other girl in Peru. It was not too cold in Peru but the scarf was very beautiful. And very useful. When the girls were together in Peru they were very happy. They talked non-stop. For days. They had a lot to say to each other. When they left each other it was sad. And happy at the same time.

The girl took her gift scarf across the ocean to Scotland. She wore it all the time. People told her it was her color. It was warm and sometimes made her sweat on her bike. One day she took off her scarf and left it in the basket of her bike-- and then got on a train. She only realized she had left it when she was already far away. She worried about the scarf.

When she came back, she saw from a distance that the scarf was still there and was only a little wet from the rain that had fallen. In her basket there was a note that said the girl's name and said I love you. She didn't know who it was from. But in her heart she did.

She put the note in her bag, and the scarf around her neck and rode away, with fluffy hair flying behind.