A funny little thing.

I remember that little girl. I loved that little girl. She was sweet, thoughtful and most of all she could sing the alphabet backwards in a time I can't even count. She was special, and most of all she was alone. Ever'day I would look out of my window and see her running around, her dark chocolate skin glowing in the light and her big wide smile which never seem to go, di'n’t even matter if rain or shine! I remember her runnin' around once in her garden, it was April, and it was raining. She had a bucket; it was pink and plastic with flowers all over it. You could tell it had been used so much 'cause the flowers was darn scratched out near the bottom of the bucket. She was wandering around in the garden, rain was getting caught in her corse black hair and ever'time she saw something on the floor, she would bend down and pick it up, it was sweet. As I watched her she did it more and more, well be darned I was intrigued by this little wonder! So as mad as a hatter I went out my house, and ran down my porch to see what she was doing. As always she was alone, and when I approached her she was shocked to see someone, she was in her own world. Completely oblivious to the one she lived in. So I bent down and asked her what she was doing in the rain. Well she simply replied, 'Ma damn frogs is gettin' away!' Well I looked straight into that little bucket, and they all were. Sixteen (from what I could count) slimy, green and lumpy frogs, all on top of one another, all croakin' out like a choir of school boys. I couldn't help but laugh, and when I did the little girl looked up at me with the largest, brightest, deepest brown eyes, and said, 'now what you laughin' at me for? I ain't done nothin' funny.' She'd God damn taken my breath away. So I be darned, I invited her round for some milk and cookies. She smiled and said only if her frogs could come in too. All I did was smile, take her hand and invite her round next-door. Oh, that day was magnificent we sat and we watched the rain, she told me all about her favourite games to play and I just sat there and grinned like a fool. When the rain cleared up she went on home, I waved goodbye and sent me a kiss.

There was also another day I remember. This time it was sunny, and boy was it hot. I was hanging out the washing. My husband had gone to work and in curiosity I looked over at the house where the little girl lived. She wasn't out for once, but her little pink bucket with the flowers on it was sittin' on the porch, and I heard various croaks coming from it. Suddenly she walked out of her door, head looking heavy, and her little yellow dress covered in tomato ketchup. She picked up her bucket and walked down the road, past my house, past the bus stop and round the corner. Well being the fool that I am, I followed her. I di'n’t know what else to do, I cared for that little sweetheart. Being a married woman with no children, I d'know I just wanted to protect her. So I followed her. After fifteen minutes I found she had taken her frogs and was chuckin' 'em in a river. Her face was sad, but for some reason she looked very mature. Not like a young girl at all, but instead a young woman. Being the numpty that I am I cleared my throat and said, 'Now what do you think you're doing?' Well her spark sure hadn't gone, ‘cause she damn shouted back up the bank, 'What does it look like? I'm thowin' 'em away.' With that I left her, I knew she was happy. The reason I remember that day so clearly, was it was the first day in five years that I had ever seen that little girl so dismal. It was God damn heart breakin'.

The last time I saw that beautiful face was of July three years ago, it was windy that day, and the sun came out in various intervals. I was sitting on my porch, knitting, when a little body fumbled up the steps. Because of the honey suckle I couldn't see who it was, but eventually I saw a little deep brown arm sturdy itself on the porch, and the head of the little girl poked out. She was holdin' a tin, and by the looks of it, it was an old coffee tin. She smiled, and I welcomed her onto the porch. I hadn't seen her much since the frog incident, only a few times when she spoke to me over the white picket fence. Well she sat next to me on a wicker chair and gave me the coffee box. I just laughed and said, 'No darlin' don't you worry, I got plenty'a coffee waiting for me inside.' She just gave me a look as if to say I was stupid or something, and pushed the tin further forward on the patio table. So I put down my knitting and opened the tin. Inside it was a few curled up pieces of paper tied up with pink ribbon, a couple of crayons, a matchbox and a toffee sweet. Well I was surprised as hell, that's what I was! She told me to open the 'scrolls' as she called them. So I did, wrappin' each ribbon round my wrist like a bracelet. One was a drawing of a frog with a hat on it, another was a drawing of me and her on a swing, and the last was a picture of the rain, going down on a huge yellow and green field with a tree in the middle of it. I then opened up the matchbox and inside was a little necklace, one I'd seen her make on the porch once when it was raining. It had pink and purple beads on it which soon met in the middle to a small pink plastic fish. She said it had a fish on it because she remembered I was looking for my 'fish' necklace that day and I was getting 'flappy' of some sort. I just smiled at her and said thank you. With that she said good bye, although I was determined to return her the favour, so I made her wait whilst I ran inside to find a present in return. I finally gave her a gold necklace that I had when I was a child, it was only cheap, and I bought it with the first job money I earned from mowin’ the lawn. The pendent was a little flower, like a daisy or a sunflower. I knew I was never goin' to wear it again, so I gave it to her in any clean handkerchief I could find. I told her not to open the parcel until she got in the car. With that she smiled and thanked me, with one last kiss'n'hug she ran off. I remember seein' their car speed off into the murky distance, and as I held tight onto my apron as I wished that little girl the best of luck.

Now, whenever I pray, I hold her necklace in my hands. Whenever I want coffee, I buy the brand on the tin she gave me. And whenever I see a frog in the rain, well I damn pick that fella up and dump 'im in the river fifteen minutes away. I hope, where ever she may be that she is wearin' that necklace. And I hope that my little girl grows up to be a funny little thing like her...