Real Friends

The sadness of Tristan departed from his eight year old heart the summer he met Baldwin. Tristan moved into the suburban neighborhood without any friends and struggled to make friendships while at school. As a young boy, he had already began to build a acceptance to loneliness, a quality his mother tried to avoid within her child. She would often try to involve him in sports in hopes of him breaking his shell, but Tristan did not have the interest in such activities. Unsure of what to do, she hoped he would find a friend on his own, removing her constant pressure for him to be a social boy. One day, he was playing basketball in front of his house on a portable hoop, he met his first friend, breaking his solitude. 

Baldwin startled Tristan as he basically crept from the shadows and stood beside Tristan. Tristan, on the other hand, could not easily make friends, but Baldwin showed no fear and waved and gave a friendly “hello.” Tristan responded with his own wave and a “hi,“ feeling compelled to invite Baldwin to play, and Baldwin agreed. They played for hours building a friendship, laughing and joking, pretending they’ve known each other for several years. When Tristan’s mother began pulling up the driveway, Baldwin declared he had to return home for dinner, realizing his own mother is probably home as well. They gave their farewells and agreed to meet again at the same time the next day. Tristan’s mother asked him who he was talking to while unloading the groceries, and he replied with “a new friend.” Excited, his mother took interest that her son finally made a new friend and wanted to meet him, but the boy was reluctant to do so, and dodged the issue for several weeks. And if Baldwin so happened to be visiting their home, Tristan made sure his mother never saw him. Eventually, at the end of those several weeks, his mother discovered the reason for his reluctance and decided to not interfere in the friendship.