“Welcome!”

    It was the first time that Suzy found a girl her own age. That girl was Naeun, who was slightly taller than her, with a face that was quite chubby and round. She wore the prettiest dress that Suzy had ever seen; bright pink with frills on the hems. It made her feel plain in her jeans and jumper. Of course, a seven-year-old girl like her should not feel plain, but she started hating dresses because of her friends. The boys often did sports, and would explore the orchards, that a dress hindered her from joining them.

Naeun’s room was also very pretty. Pink exploded on the walls. Pink teddies, too many to count, settled over a princess bed, gauze curtains (pink) spilled over from the tall headstand. At the corner was a little table (white, thank goodness) where two other girls sat. Soojung had long hair, giving her the nickname Rapunzel. She was also not very friendly. Eunji was all creases and smiles. Even when she talked, she would just smile. Even when she was angry or sad, she would smile. It was as if her smile was permanent, giving her the nickname Smiley.

    Pinky. Smiley. Rapunzel.

“We’re having a tea party,” said Naeun, in her high-pitched voice. “Please join us!” Holding Suzy’s hand, she led her to an empty chair. There were plastic teacups and teapots on the table. She pretended to pour some tea into the teacup designated for Suzy.

        “There you go!”

Suzy caught Soojung giving her an awful glare. It caused the heat to creep up her neck. For one, she was unable to speak among these girls, suddenly very intimidated by them. They talked about silly things, like the weather, toys, baking and dolls. Topics that did not interest her.

    “So what do you like to do?” asked Eunji, her grin visible from ear to ear. She pretended to sip from her teacup.

Suzy emulated her action. “I like to explore and see the stars.”

    “Explore?” Naeun let out a gasp. “Oh my, that’s so lovely! What do you explore?”

“The gardens in my grandfather’s orphanage.”

    “Did you find anything unusual?”

“We found strange rocks, some flowers, and an area that needed cleaning up.”

    “That’s not very fun,” commented Soojung, her big-almond eyes glaring at her.

Suzy stammered, unable to say anything else.

    “It sounds very fun to me,” said Eunji.

“You know, Suzy,” said Naeun, twisting her hand as she spoke, “My parents are thinking of buying a boy from your grandfather’s orphanage. They told me I will be happier if I had a brother to look after me.”

    “Ew!” Soojung pretended to choke. She reached for a napkin and dabbed it lightly over her lips. “Why would you want a brother? They’re so loud and stinky.”

    “Boys are so loud and stinky,” said Eunji, with a smiling nod.

“No they’re not!” Suzy exclaimed, so loudly that she was sure her face was red. The girls stared at her, wide-eyed and bewildered.

    She cleared . “They can be loud and stinky, but I have friends who are cool.”

“You’re friends with boys!?” Naeun let out a piggy squeal.

    “But why?” Eunji watched her with shining eyes, as if she was pitying her. “Boys and girls don’t get along.

“Sugar, spice and everything nice--that’s what little girls are made of. Snips, snails and puppy-dog tails--that’s what little boys are made of.”

    “Nonsense,” said Suzy. “Boys aren’t aliens. They’re human. Like us.”

“Really…” said Soojung, her face turning into stone. “That’s quite interesting. Tell us more about your friends.”

    So she decided to tell them about her adventures with the Sun, the Moon and the Earth. The girls were absolutely fascinated. It turned out that Eunji had an older and younger brother, but she never played with them, not like Suzy and her friends.

    “The Sun sounds so cool,” she said. “I’d love to meet him one day.”

“The Moon sounds like he could be interesting,” said Soojung.

    “I like the Earth. He’s cute,” said Naeun, giggling.

Suzy then zoned out from the conversation. She just realised that she shared information with three strangers. That information was classified. It was only for her own heart. It was about her beloved friends. For the first time in her life, she discovered a feeling that a child would not understand until they came into existence. When they thought, they became. And the people around them, their attachments, what set them apart from strangers was all according to this one feeling.

    Love.

And in sharing that feeling with these girls, she was afraid that it would be diluted, into a tasteless juice that was no longer enjoyable. And the girls would take it wit