Loyal At First Sight ✔️

✨ 2 ✨

🍁 Five Years Later 🍁

ELIJAH

"Don't you look dapper today. What's the occasion?"My mom teased looking at me with a smile as I entered the kitchen.

She knew very well what the occasion was, she was just messing with me. And of course I looked good, it was my tenth birthday after all. I was having a party and my mom had invited a lot of people, especially the kids from my class.

Mom was decorating my cake and I could hear my sisters playing with helium in the living room to make their voices sound different.

"Are you all dressed up for me, or is there another special lady in your life other than your Oma?"My grandmother asked joining me and my mom in the kitchen.

"Oma!"I shouted excitedly running to hug her.

She lived a few blocks away so I saw her all the time but she always gave the best birthday presents thus the extra special hug for her.

"Happy birthday bubsy."My grandma cheered reaching into her big bag to give me my birthday present.

Any other time I would have scolded her for calling me that ridiculous name but I let it slide. I didn't want to risk her taking back my present. I was about to start ripping open but it was snatched away from my hands before I could get to it.

"You know the rule, you get to open all presents after the party."My mom tutted.

"P-p-please m-mom."I begged my hands clasped in front of me as in a prayer.

"Didn't work last year, ain't gonna work this year either. Now go put on your shoes, people will start arriving soon. Even that special lady you're all dressed up for."My mom said with a smile making me flush.

How did she know I was dressed up for Maya? I hadn't told anyone. To avoid any more embarrassment I ran out of the kitchen and back the stairs to my bedroom to wear my shoes. I was wearing my favorite jeans, a pressed shirt that my mom made me wear on special occasions and a bowtie.

I put on my shoes quickly because I didn't want to miss Maya's arrival. She was my best friend since kindergarten. My mom always said we were so close if we could, we'd be joined to the hip. Maya was the one person who had made an effort to talk to me besides my stutter and shyness. Maya liked to talk, a lot and I liked to listen to her talk so we made a good team. I didn't talk that much because of my stutter but Maya didn't mind so I tended to be out of my shell more when I was with her.

Everyone in my family loved Maya and I did too, a lot more actually, she was awesome and very pretty. My sisters always liked teasing us saying that we were boyfriend and girlfriend but it wasn't true. We weren't old enough yet to start thinking like that just like Oma had said. Maybe when we were older and really understood what being boyfriend and girlfriend really meant. All I knew is that I wanted Maya to be in my life forever.

I was really looking forward to seeing her because I hadn't seen her in a week. She had been at the hospital but she had been discharged right on time for my birthday. My mom hadn't allowed me to visit her at the hospital so I really missed her. I also didn't know what was wrong with my best friend, she had been getting sick a lot lately, always spending time in and out of hospitals but I was happy she was better and would be present for my birthday.

I looked at myself once more in the mirror and after making sure that I looked good, I left my room. My bedroom was on the second floor, it had actually been the attic but when my older sister, Ivy who preceded me by two years had demanded a room of her own my dad had renovated the attic for me. It was actually the biggest room in the house and I had a view of the lake that was a few houses away from ours. I also loved it because when Maya came over we spent hours in there together without my parents or sisters disturbing us. They didn't like taking all the stairs up to my room so we had a lot of privacy.