The original concept for this story was my sister's not mine. I took it, played with it, twisted it and changed it. Pretty much unrecognizable from the original story, but she insisted I've got to credit her so here. Long credit, ain't it? 

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Summer Days

Meryl was a friend of mine when I just a boy; in fact she was my best and only friend.

At that time, I didn't know any kids my age so she was my playmate, whether I liked it a lot. I did like her. But she had her mood swings; one day she would be so sweet and let me have the best sweets while on the next she might drench me with a bucket of water and refuse to talk to me.

Children are children; they need playmates. I would do anything to win her friendship back; give her my new toys, the cone of my ice cream; anything for her to play with me.

Meryl had the most beautiful hair; long tangling curls the colour of violet, like my special felt tip pen, and always had a few twigs and leaves stuck in it. Her skin was nut brown and she had the warmest smile during her good moods, a smile that you couldn't help but smile back to. Those days were always filled with light and warmth.

Sometimes, Meryl would have wings. Not bird wings, but the kind dragonflies had; translucent and red that flapped lazily on hot sunny days. 

Then I started school. At first, Meryl couldn't understand why I wasn't around anymore. When I told her about school, she ordered me to stop going.

By this time, I wasn't as affected by her moods as I once was, because I had other playmates, other friends, from school.

A few days of my disobedience went by and for the first time, it was Meryl who broke the silence. But not to apologize, as I thought she would.

"I want you to stop playing with those other children," she hissed, snake-like. Her skin was flushed and her hair was more red than purple today.

“Why?”

She pinched me. It wasn’t the first time, but it hurt all the same.

“Because I told you so, that’s why!”

“But they’re my friends!”

“I’m your only friend,” she snapped. “I’m the only friend you need. I’m the only friend you’ll ever need.”

“That’s not true.”

The outburst stunned me. Usually, I was the quiet one, the one who apologized, the one who groveled, the one who went along with things no matter how much I didn’t like it. I was the servant, while Meryl was the princess.

I was sick of it.

“You can’t be friends with both them and me at the same time,” she said. For the first time, there was sadness in her voice.

“Why?” I asked.

She shook her head. “You can’t.”

“But you’ll like them too! They’re all nice.”

“You have to choose. Me or them.”

I looked at her, at her tousled purple mess of hair, her eyes the colour of grass, her wings glowing crimson in the sun, giving her a faint red aura. Meryl was special. I had always known that, maybe that was why I was always so eager to be her friend, to be a part of her special world.

But Meryl was only one person. I suppose that was why I made that decision.

“You won’t choose me over some humans,” she said. Her vulnerable sadness was gone as quickly as it had come; her voice was now sulky and irritable, her moods changing quickly just like the spoilt child she was.

“Watch me,” I said, and walked away from her. It seemed to me when I did that, the bright sunlight seemed to fade a little, and it felt colder, like a cloud had covered the sun. But there were no clouds in the sky.

“You’ll regret this,” she said, her tone confident.

I didn’t reply, and continued walking.

I never saw Meryl again. But everything seems to have grown colder since, like autumn just after summer.

There are times when I think I see a flash of violent, or sunlight bouncing off shining red wings. But I look again and I know I will find nothing.

Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right choice. I hear a giggle from time to time, and I know she is watching.

End