lullaby

8. The promise I

Brisbane, Australia. 2002

A small black haired kid was sitting down in front of the window, watching the kids playing on the street.
All those were almost the same age as Eddy.

It was summer's vacation, so he could hear them running all day long. Eddy sighed, resting his head on the glass of the window.

"Eddy! Are you practicing, darling?", her mother's voice yelled from the kitchen.

Eddy jumped from the chair and grabbed his violin. He sighed, and grinned with decision.
He has to practice at lest two hours daily. One before dinner, one before going to sleep.

The notes were rough and hard to listen to, but his fingers and posture were getting better day by day. Even the days when he wasn't really into practicing, mom was there to push him forward.

Half an hour later, Eddy finally leaved the house jumping. He still had one hour before dinner.

His friends -and neighbours- were playing hide and seek. Eddy arrived at the moment everyone was running away from the boy who was counting back from one hundred.

One of the boys took Eddy from the wrist and pull him.
Eddy let himself being taken.
His other hand on his mouth, to contain his laughter.

After a long run, the boys were finally hiding behind a big bush on someone's yard.
Both were giggling quietly.
They were still holding hands.

Eddy liked the touch of his hand around hims. It was smaller than his. He took a look at the boy who was squatting besides him.

His hair was black and long, almost covering his neck. He was wearing black shorts and a blue t-shirt. He had small brown eyes, and his skin was light toasted. Eddy had an idea.

"Hello!", he said in chinese.
The boy turned to see him and covered his mouth with one finger.

"Shh! Silence!", he whispered in chinese as well and smiling playfully. His eyes wrinkled.

Eddy smiled. Finally, he thought. He was about saying something else, when a kid jumped from the other side of the bush and screamed: "Found you!"

"Oh, men", Eddy and the boy sighed, while standing up.

Eddy reached the boy's shoulder.
"Hey! Are you new here?", he asked smiling.

"Yeah", the boy nodded. His smile was wide and frank. "I'm James. What's your name?"

Eddy shivered a little. This boy was...kind of pretty. A pretty boy, just like the boys her sister Bella loved watching on tv.

"Eddy", he answered, scratching the back of his head, "Why do you speak chinese?", he asked while they started walking back to were all the boys where gathering.

***
James family was also from Taiwan. He was born there, and moved to Australia a few years ago.

His father was a widow. His mom passed away when James was two years old. He was incredibly liberal for an asian father. He was an illustrator, and believed James education shouldn't be as strict as hims was.

So, James and Eddy's favourite place to play around was James's house.

They became friends quickly. Eddy could tell him about the violin, and James would never make fun of him. They loved drawing and playing videogames.

They would have long chats while playing in the park. Eddy have never had any other friend like James.

He loved watching James smiling face. Something on his stomach felt really good every time he could see him smiling at him.
He was always making jokes to watch that smile of hims popped out.