Missing Someone

Samantha sat by her bedroom window, lost in her own thoughts. She watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of orange and pink across the sky. Samantha wondered where her best friend was at that moment. She could almost see the aeroplane soaring across the sky towards a distant land that she had never even heard of before the unexpected announcement two weeks ago.

As the night deepened and twinkling stars appeared from behind the clouds, Samantha shivered. The darkness of the night only amplified her feeling of longing and loneliness. Samantha wished she could hear Lily’s voice again. She missed how her face lit up with every enthusiastic exclamation and her never-ending stream of chatter.

Samantha’s fingers danced across the screen of her phone. “Where are you?” she typed. With a million thoughts running through her head, Samantha scrolled through old messages, finding comfort in the words they had exchanged and reminisced about the moments they had shared. A bittersweet smile spread across her face as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Over the next few days, Samantha continued to send text messages to Lily, but did not receive any response. She wondered if Lily had already forgotten about her. Had their friendship meant so little? Was she so easily replaced?

However, three days later, Samantha’s phone buzzed in her pocket. Her heart leapt with joy when she saw Lily’s name plastered across the screen, albeit with a different number.

Lily had finally settled in at her new home. Moving in was a whirlwind of activity and everyone had got new phone numbers. Lily apologised for the delay as the paperwork had taken some time to complete. As the two continued to exchange text messages, it almost felt like Lily had never left. Sarah knew that they would continue to be best friends for a very long time.

Pei Wen watched as the aeroplane took off down the runway and soared into the sky, taking away her guardian. An ache tugged at her heart as she held onto her parents’ hands, her eyes following the aeroplane until it was just a tiny speck in the sky.

Pei Wen’s grandmother had set off on a month-long trip to visit their relatives. Her absence was something that Pei Wen was very unfamiliar with. Afterall, Pei Wen had grown up under her grandmother’s care and clung onto her like a koala to a tree.

In the days that followed, Pei Wen moped around the house, staring forlornly at the calendar as she crossed out the dates each day. She missed the cheerful laughter of her grandmother and how she would squeeze her cheeks and gush, “Look how cute you are!” Pei Wen used to laugh. She was no longer a kid anymore, but she would always remain a little girl in her grandmother’s eyes.

One day, Pei Wen’s mother entered her room with a gentle smile and a weathered cookbook in her hands. “Your grandmother left this behind,” she winked. “How about we try making some of her signature dishes?”

Pei Wen’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. Together, they flipped through the pages, filled with handwritten notes. Pei Wen smiled as her fingers traced the familiar handwriting. As they chopped and stirred, the kitchen began to fill with the aromas of the dishes that had once been lovingly prepared by Pei Wen’s grandmother. Pei Wen’s heartache seemed a little lighter.

When the day finally arrived, Pei Wen stood at the window, her heart pounding with anticipation. A car soon pulled into the driveway, and there she was, just like before. Pei Wen rushed outside and embraced her grandmother in a tight hug, welcoming her home. Her grandmother listened with delight as Pei Wen boasted about her newly-acquired culinary skills. Pei Wen could not wait for her to try out her cooking!