The park was windy on Saturday. Grayish clouds moved across the sky, blocking the sun and the morning chill cast a cool shadow over the world. Huddled down inside her jacket, nine-year-old Amber Simmons sat on the picnic table beneath the old crookedy oak tree and stared gloomily at the empty swing set a few feet away. 

The wind rocked the swings back and forth, back and forth, as if two girls were playing there. Then a sideways breeze pushed them a kilter and silent giggles and squeals of laughter sounded somewhere. Her head drooped and a single tear sank down Amber's cheek.

What was Cindy doing right then? Was she having fun in Philadelphia with her new best friend? A strong wind prodded suddenly, pushing hard cold fingers at Amber. She shivered and hugged herself tight. Her eyes squeezed shut and she tried not to think about anything, but that was impossible of course.

Why hadn’t Cindy called or at least answered her Emails? A familiar throb in Ambers’ tummy panged as she wondered. It’d been a whole week! Was Plainville, Illinois too small a place to remember? Was Amber so easy to forget? They were best friends! They had been….?

Amber pushed herself up and started for home, but her feet moved aimlessly and she found herself at the creek. Her eyes were wet and she blinked away the moistness and stared upstream at the swimming hole.

The ledge beneath the willow tree was gone, covered by the high swirling water. In the summer, when the creek was lower, the girls had spent many hot days there hiding from the sun. With feet dipped into the coolness of the water, they’d talked and laughed and traded secrets for hours and hours. Amber hadn’t ever thought it would end. Her tummy panged again, worse than before. She hadn’t thought that Cindy would ever forget. Amber wouldn’t……

She was walking again, she realized, past the swings and slides and the wooden climbee thing, until Amber found herself at the entrance to the park. Slowing for just a moment, she shook her head once and went on. There wasn’t anything else to do.

It was only two blocks home, but to Amber, it seemed like miles of empty barren space. As she trudged slowly onward, her heart sank deeper with each step. For an instant the sun blossomed over her with warmth and light. The world suddenly came alive with color and she stopped, blinking. The change only made things worse, Amber realized. When the clouds covered the sun again and the numbness returned she was able to move again.

A horn honked somewhere. Her hand automatically shot up to wave, but there weren’t any cars in sight and her arm dropped down again. Fighting the loneliness that welled up inside, she quickened her pace.

Her mothers’ voice came from the kitchen when Amber got home, “Hi, honey!”

Shutting the front door, she answered, “Hi, Mom.” Her own voice seemed like a distant echo.

“I’m baking bread. You want to help?”

Amber stopped halfway up the stairs. “I-No, Mom….”

“I’ll call you when the first loaf comes out.”

“Thanks.” She started up the stairs again. Amber sniffed as she went through the hall to her room. The smell of bread baking was heavy in the air, but something about the aroma seemed strange. Like everything else, it seemed to have lost its meaning.

She threw herself on her bed and buried her face in the pillow just as the tears came. How could Cindy move away and just, just….! Amber sobbed. They were best friends. It didn’t make any sense! Sobbing softly, she cried herself to sleep.

When Amber woke up a few hours later, she was feeling much better. The dull ache inside hadn’t gone away -it never would- but she knew it was silly to get so carried away. If Cindy didn’t want to be friends anymore, it was a terrible shame, but you couldn’t mope forever about a lost friend. Even your best friend….

Amber went to the bathroom and washed her face. Her blonde hair was tangled and she brushed it straight. Green eyes stared at themselves in the mirror and the lonesomeness crept back, but she pushed it away. She hoped Cindy was happy, she really did. But Amber would just have to make herself forget.

There were five loaves of bread on the sideboard in the kitchen, along with a note:

2 wheat 2 white and
1 raisin just for you
Went to Aunt Heddas
Love, Mom

Smiling to herself, Amber sliced the dark loaf of raisin bread and spread butter and a thick glob of strawberry jam on two pieces. Mmmmm! The first bite exploded in her mouth and she realized she how hungry she was. She gobbled greedily, relishing the sweet flavors. After she was done, she licked the stickiness off her lips and sighed.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she looked at the loaves of bread. Amber suddenly felt guilty, thinking about what a mopey-dope she’d been the past few days. She was going to stop feeling sorry for herself. Mom had put up with enough of that.

A soft ding sounded from somewhere in the house. Was it her imagination....? Amber got up and shuffled her stockinged feet over the kitchen floor, her heart beating faster. She stopped at the door to the den and gazed at the flat screen on the desk inside the room. If there isn’t an Email from Cindy I’m not going to get sad, she told herself. She moved inside the room and sat down at the desk. 

Amber’s hands were shaking as she touched the keyboard. She blinked and stared at the Email address on the screen--- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Cindy!!! Laughing, Amber opened the Email. It said, ‘The phone company is all messed up here. We just got our phone Sorry it took so long to answer your mails. I MISS YOU MISS YOU MISS YOU! Dad wants to use this thing, so I have to cut it short. I’ll send a longer one later. Love, Cindy.’

Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks as Amber typed back, ‘Oh Cindy, I misss you too!!'