The Girl Who Hates The Sun
by Christiana / Yana Peña
In the center of the village near the park was Andy’s house. Andy was a child who never go out of her house unless it was raining, unlike any other kids. Alone in her room, she played her Barbie dolls. As long as possible, she doesn’t want to take a peek in the window because she can only see the other kids happily playing with each other in the park with their friends and parents. She doesn’t like summer when sunny days often occurred. Since, she only stay in her house the whole time except school hours, she has a pale skin. She is a pretty girl but still, the others make fun of her because, she has big ears.
One afternoon, the children playing in the park hurriedly went home because of the tiny drops of rain in their head which is later on, turned out into a heavy rain. When Andy heard the rain pouring in their roof, she hurriedly took an umbrella to went outside. She walk and wander around the empty park under her cute small umbrella only her can fit. As she walked around, the ice cream vendor who is keeping his tools from being wet approach her for he only saw her once.
“Hey little girl, I’ve serve every kids in this village except for you,” the man said. “Would you like to have some of my ice cream?” he asked.
“Ice cream in the rain, totally different,” Andy said. “Sure, I want to try,” she added.
“Then why were you alone walking in the rain?” the man asked curiously.
“You haven’t saw me before because………… the sun was always there,” then she pointed her finger in the sky.
“What’s the matter if the sun is always…..there? The man asked as he copy Andy’s action.
“Well, the kids will be happy playing here while I’m alone in my room with no playmates,”
“But you are also alone walking here a while ago? Why don’t you join them?”
“I can’t, they might don’t like me and my ears. Besides, if it’s raining, they can’t be playing here, they’ll be miserable in their rooms, like me.” Andy explained.
“And so, you hate the sun?” the man asked.
“Yes, mister,” she answered.
“I do think we have something to clarify, but before that, why don’t we stay in the shed?” The man offer her a hand.
“My mother said not to talk nor come with a stranger,” Andy refused the man’s hands.
“No worries, everyone in the park know me well, I’m not inviting you to a place nobody could ever find, but it is better not to talk under an umbrella when there is a shed,” the man told her.
“You have a point yet, I won’t hold your hand.” Then the two both headed to the waiting shed while Andy is licking her ice cream.
“I’ll go straight to the point, if you don’t mind.” The man said and so Andy paid more attention to him than to her ice cream. The man looked at her seriously. “You just can’t accept others being happy while you were in loneliness. Instead, you felt resentful of their advantages. The advantages of being an almost-perfect child.”
“I’m that almost perfect child if not for my ears, yet I don’t have any advantages.” Andy complained.
“You are very wrong, my dear. You aren’t the only almost perfect child in the world or simply, in this park. You ,without knowing, that most of the kids playing here has their disabilities inside them. Some of them was deaf, had a bad eye sight and worse, needed a medical operation as soon as possible. Playing in the park might their only happiness but children like you doesn’t even want to share your heart to them. Selfishness, I guessed.”
“Am I that bad?” Andy realized that she’s being too greed.
“That’s not my point. You worry so much of what other kids might think of you when you haven’t give yourself the chance to know them better, Besides, have you heard them laughed at you? Did they meet you?” the man asked.
“Not yet,” Andy said with a low voice.
“Obviously, not yet is better than no in our case. It means, you plans on showing up to them, don’t you? Go ahead. They’re good kids. I’ve known them for a year every time they hurriedly lined up when I rang the bell just to have my precious ice cream. Also, you are an almost perfect kid not because of your ears. Your ears are perfectly fine. You are an almost perfect because you lack of confidence and understanding but full of envy and judgments. Try to enjoy your childhood with them. Once you grow up, you can’t never go back at this time of your life. I’m here to defend you. If ever they don’t treat you well, tell me and I’ll never give them ice creams. Go, like the sun who already stop crying and is ready to show itself again.” Then the man pointed to the sun who’s beginning to shine brightly again. Soon, the other kids went out of their houses. Andy run to them but unfortunately, she slipped in the mud which made others laugh. But instead of teasing her, they helped her out of it until each one also slipped into the mud as they helped each other.
The ice cream vendor happily watch them until Andy noticed him.
“Hey mister, thanks, if not for you, I might have lost this times of fun.” Andy told him. When Andy is about to head to her new friends, she once again, turn her back to the man and called him.
“By the way, mister, my name is Andy.”
- yana pinya