9 years ago.

Sylviai was staring outside her window. It was quite a boring day for her, as she can't play outside. Her big sister is busy chatting on the phone, and doesn't want her around to pester her. "What to do? What to do?" she thought. As far as she's concerned, she's the only kid in the neighborhood. No one is there to play with. Sometimes, she hates that the fact that they moved because she missed her friends. But as her mother said, buying the house is such a good deal. She doesn't even know what she means by it.  

"It's boring without anyone to play with. " she said in a singsong voice. She let out a sigh, and rested her chin on the window sill. Just then, she saw a truck stop by in front of their house. She watched as some men starts to take out the furniture from the truck and put it inside the house. Not long after, a car parked right behind the moving truck. 

"We have a new neighbor, huh?" Sylvia thought. What caught Sylvia's attention was the boy who came out of the car. He looked like about her age. Her lighted up upon seeing another kid in their compound. "Finally, another kid!" she thought. 

She immediately rushed down from her room. Downstairs, she saw her mother preparing their lunch for that day. "Mom, we have a new neighbor!" she said gleefully. Her mother smiled at her. "I know. And you  know what else? There's a boy there that's the same age as you. You can go and befriend him later." she heard her mother said. She ran up to her mom, and tugged her skirt. "Mommy, mommy, can we go and meet the new neighbor? Please? Please? Please?" she asked, giving her mom puppy eyes. "Later when they're no longer busy, all right?" her mom answered.

She let out a pout. "But mommy, I want to meet the new kid!" she insisted. Her mother let out a sigh. "Aiyo, Sylvia, they're still moving things inside their house. We can't disturb them at this time."

"We just have to say hi for a few seconds."

"Still, they're busy. We'll go to their house and greet them once they're done moving, all right?"

Sylvia lowered her head in disappointment. She just can't wait to befriend the boy. She have been waiting for a long time for a new friend, and she can't let this moment pass by. "How about this," she heard her mother said. Her mother pulled up her chin, and smiled at her. "Let's make some cake to bring later for the new neighbor, all right? I'm sure they'll be hungry by the time they've finished. And besides, if we go there after they're done moving their things, you'll get to spend more time with their son. Is that OK with you?" she asked. Sylvia smiled and nodded her head. "Good girl. Let's make that cake, all right?" her mother said again. "Can we bake chocolate cake for them? Mom's chocolate cake is the best!" Sylvia said as she followed her mother to  the kitchen. "Then, chocolate cake it is!" her mother told her. 

--

Sylvia and her mother stood in front of their new neighbor's front door. She looked up at her mother, who was knocking on the door. She had rehearsed so many times in her head how she will introduce herself to the new kid. 

Just then, a younger lady opened the door. "Good afternoon." Her mom said, smiling at the new neighbor. The younger lady smiled at her. "I'm Pauline, and this is my daughter, Sylvia. We live at that house in front of yours." she said, pointing at that house. "We would like to welcome you to the neighborhood."

The lady smiled at them. "Thank you so much, my dear. I'm Melody." she said. "Oh, and by the way, we bought you a welcome gift. I hope you will like it." Pauline said, handing her the cake. "Don't worry about the cake, it's not too sweet." she added. "Thank you. I'm sure my nephew will like it as well. We're quite opposites, you know. I love sweets, while he doesn't. Why don't you two come in so we can share this cake, all right?" Melody said. 

As they went inside the house, Sylvia's eyes began to search for the little boy. She heard her mother call her to sit by her side. She could hear the two elders talking, but her eyes still searched for him. Just then, she noticed something - or someone, looking at her from the stairs. She stood up from her seat, and slowly walked towards the stairs to take a look. 

"Sylvia, what are you doing there?" she heard her mother said. Her mother and Melody walked up to him.   "I saw someone by the stairs." she said, pointing at it. Melody looked up, and then smile. "Zheng, come here. It's OK." she said. Then, the boy walked down the stair. He looked at Sylvia and then hid behind Melody. 

"Sylvia, this is my nephew, Wes. Wes, this is our new neighbor, Sylvia. She wants to be friends with you." Melody said. Sylvia gave him a toothy smile, and then extended her hand to him. "Hi! I'm Sylvia. Welcome to the neighborhood." Wes looked up at Melody, then back to Sylvia. "It's OK, Zheng. Shake her hand." she encouraged her nephew. 

Wes let out a faint smile, and then shook Sylvia's hand. "Let's be friends from now on, OK?" she said. Wes looked up again at his aunt, as if looking for approval. Melody smiled and nodded at him. Then, Wes looked at Sylvia, and nodded his head. "Yay! I made a new friend!" Sylvia shouted with joy. Melody and Pauline could not help but laugh at Sylvia. 

--

"May I ask something, Melody? I hope you don't mind." Pauline asked as they were having coffee outside their house. Both of them were keeping an eye on the kids as they were playing. "Sure. I'll try to answer the best that I can." Melody said. "I was wondering, where is Wes' parents?" 

Melody let out a sad smile, and looked at Wes. "Wes' dad is a doctor abroad. He asked me to look after him while he's away."

"And Wes' mom?"

"His mom left them for another man when he was younger."

Pauline was surprised at what Melody said. She knew she should have not asked that question, as the answer was too personal. "I'm sorry to hear that..." Pauline said. "It's OK. I'm used to answering those kind of questions as I'm tired of keeping it to everyone. His mom having an affair with another man was a big scandal in our family. And it left a deep emotional wound in Wes." Melody said. "Is that why you two keep moving around?" Pauline asked. Melody nodded her head. "You see, Wes is having a hard time accepting it. He kept on having problems in school, and he kept himself shut out to the world. He was having a hard time befriending kids, because most of them would because of his mother." Melody explained. "Poor kid..." Pauline muttered as he looked at Wes and Sylvia.

"I really hope this time, Zheng could settle in here, so that we won't have to move again. I can see that Zheng is adjusting well here, thanks to you and your daughter." Melody said. Pauline smiled at her. "Don't worry, Melody. Me and my family will always help you and Wes. You two are like a family to us now." Pauline said. 

Meanwhile, Sylvia was busy playing with Wes' toy truck, while Wes was busy tinkering with a piece of paper. She stopped playing when she realized Wes was doing other things. "What are you doing?" she asked as she peeked at him. Wes looked at her, then handed him an origami butterfly he made. "For me?" Sylvia asked him. Wes nodded her head. Sylvia took it, and looked at it. "It's pretty! I love it. Thank you, Wes." she said.

"Auntie said, you can whisper your wish to that butterfly, then if it becomes a real butterfly, your wishes will come true." Wes said. "Really? Then I will make a wish then." Sylvia said. She clasped her hand and closed her eyes to make a wish. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw a butterfly flying past them. "Look, a real butterfly! My wish is going to come true!" she said in awe. Wes looked at her hand, and she was still holding on to the origami. "But my butterfly didn't became a real one..." he pointed out. "But we saw a real one after I made a wish. It still count, right?" she said smiling at him. 

"What did you wish for anyway?" Wes asked. "My wish? That you will stay here forever and be my best friend forever and ever until the next life! I know it's going to come true because you will stay here forever, right?" she said.  "Do you really want me to be your friend forever?" he asked. Sylvia nodded her head. "Why, don't you want me to be your friend forever?" she asked him. "Of course, I do. The truth is, it's the first time that someone wants to be friends me. The kids in my old school tease me alot and bullies me. I'm glad that you want to be friends with me." he said. Sylvia smiled at him. "Then, let's be best friends forever, all right?" she said. Wes smiled and nodded his head.

She then lifted up her pinky finger. "Let's make a promise then." she said. Wes hooked his pinky fingers to hers. "I promise to be your best friend." he said.