We wander through town for a few minutes, and it stops raining. Mina suddenly grabs my arm and says, "Woah! Look at that kid."

I follow her gaze, and see the little girl that has made her stop. 

"She looks exactly like you!" Mina says. 

Now I stop to consider her. She has straight, dark brown hair and lightly tanned skin. Her hazel eyes match mine, too. 

"Honestly, you two could be sisters. Or..." she trails off, and I see her eyes light up. "I dare you to go up to her and pretend you’re her, from the future."

I immediately shake her arm off mine. "No way. Firstly, I’d never be able to pull it off, and secondly, it’d be cruel."

"Aw, come on. It doesn’t have to be cruel at all. Tell her that space travel has been invented in the future. Tell her that she grows up to have her dream job and that... that she falls in love with an amazing person, who loves her back. Tell her to stick to her values and to stand up for what she believes in. Tell her that no matter what happens in her life, no matter if stuff goes badly, you can promise her that it all sorts itself out eventually and she goes on to have an amazing life."

Mina’s words make me stop and reconsider. To tell the truth, the girl does look a little lonely, in town by herself and so young. 

I walk slowly through the crowd. As I approach the girl, I realize she has her name written on her bag: Aria. When I get a few feet from her, and I’m sure she can see me, I pretend to glance at her, noticing her for the first time, then run up to her. "Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’ve found you," I say with a big smile. "I’ve been looking for you for so long!"

She takes a step back, looking at me distrustfully. I crouch down so that I’m at her height. "Aria, it’s me. This is going to sound strange, but, well... I’m you. From the future. When time travel has been invented." 

The disbelieving shock on her face wants me to laugh, but I manage to keep a straight face. She’s really cute. "Really?"

She asks doubtfully. 

"Yes. I promise. And, I just came back to let you know that you grow up to have your dream job."

This catches her attention. "Really? You mean I get to become a movie star?" She says excitedly. I smile inwardly. Isn’t that what all kids want to become?

I decide not to answer her question, and say instead, "But you’ve got to work hard, ok? Never give up." 

She nods, hanging on to my words. "Because I want you to remember this, ok? Even if stuff goes badly, I can promise you that it all sorts itself out eventually and you go on to have an amazing life. I know, because I’m you and it happened to me."

"How old are you?" She suddenly asks. 

"Twenty," I say, knowing that kids are really bad at judging ages. 

"Ok," she says. 

"I have to get back to the future," I say, "but I want to tell you one more thing. You end up falling in love with the most amazing person in the world, and they love you back completely." 

She giggles. "Do I have a family?" 

"I can’t tell you that," I say mysteriously, starting to get up. I give her a quick hug. "Remember what I told you, ok?"

She nods. "Wait! What else happens?"

I start to walk away. "It’s a secret."

Just at that moment I see a woman in high heels approaching her. She calls, 'Aria honey', and I use Aria's distraction to slip away. Mina pulls me around a corner of a building out of sightm and I collapse against her, giggling, suddenly finding it really funny.

"Oh, she was so adorable," I say. "A sweet smile, beautiful face, lovely personality."

Mina mumbles something. I catch the end of it, " . . . like you." 

"What did you say?" I ask. 

"Nothing," she says, a little quickly. "Tell you what, how about we go hang out at a park or something?"

I’m curious as to what Mina said just before, but I decide not to push it. "Ok," I agree. 

We’re sitting on the swings. The sun came out, and the world is sparkling after the rain. Now the sun is starting to set, and it’s icy cold. We’ve spent the past two hours just talking about random stuff. I take my hands off the ropes and blow into them, saying, "Brr. God it’s cold."

"Yeah, well, it is winter," she says, with a playful smirk. 

I roll my eyes. "How are you so smart?" I ask, only partly joking, because she actually is. 

"Must be my superior genes," she says. 

"Oh, please."

"Only kidding." 

We are silent for a moment. I stare at the setting sun, just sort of reflecting, and then she says, "I know that I only really met you today, so if this is kind of weird then you don’t have to say yes, but I was wondering if you’d like to come over to my place for a sleepover sometime?" She says in a rush.

"My mom loves to meet my friends, and we could just watch a bunch of movies and eat food and stuff," she says a little hesitantly, which is unusual for her.

I grin. "Watching movies and eating food? Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Hey, mind giving me a push?" She hops off her swing, and goes behind me. Soon, I’m soaring through the air and laughing and shrieking.

"Whew," Mina finally says, taking a break. "My arms are sore."

I let myself slowly come to a stop, and then look up at her and grin. "Honestly. I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. You have to be one of the best friends I’ve ever had. And I’ve only known you for a few hours. You were totally right. We are alike."

I expect her to give me one of her beautiful smiles, but instead she drops her eyes. Am I imagining it, or does she seem a little bothered?

"Ok, thanks,"

I frown. Was I too forward? Doesn’t she like me? Or what...? Shouldn't I have told her that she's one of my friends?

"And I mean, I feel the same about you, too, of course," she adds, and seems about to add something more, then shuts . "C’mon, we should be getting home. It’s getting dark."

I hop off the swing, and fall into step beside her. We walk down the footpath, occasionally bumping shoulders. For a day that had a crappy start, this one has turned out pretty damn good.