The vibrant sun rose to start the day. The noise of the ringing alarm clock filled the room and the silence was broken. She opened her eyes, stood up, and dragged her feet across the room.
“Another boring day” Amber uttered.
Amber Solis is an average teen girl living in the suburbs of Sunrise Valley — a subdivision beyond the beeping horns and the endless streets of the cities but not too far off the boundary. She lived her life in middle class. She has experienced studying in prestigious schools, visiting historical and popular landmarks, and eating lavish food. Another thing is, you can’t deny that this girl is quite the charm and the wits. Thus, many suitors would wait on their porch, dreaming to be hers. Yes, you may say she has a good life.
But, unfortunately for the guys, Amber isn’t into going for steady relationships. She believes that studies should be the major priority. But, though this studious brunette says she does not want a relationship, she is badly in need of it because behind these luxuries, Amber cries at night. Why? Well, for her, she was alone, useless, and helpless. What she thinks is actually contrary to what people around her describe her to be.
Amber has the insecurity of whether or not people talk about her or backstab her. She goes frantic over this. She misses the comfort of her beloved best friend whom she barely saw while her campus friends are simply overwhelmed by the company of their new friends, other than her. You see, Amber and her friends have been together since freshmen year. When sophomore year came, they all got distributed to different sections and it was difficult for her to adjust since. They worked it out at first. They all saw each other during recess, lunch break, and dismissal time but soon, every single one of them had something to do. They all had the urge to have a change of plan, etcetera and etcetera.
Amber will be fifteen in the beginning of the meteorological spring in the Southern hemisphere. She is the only child in the family wherein both parents are working. They have been a happy family for the first eight years of her life but after that, her parents separated. She has been emotionally suffering ever since. Amber now lives with her strict mother — another reason why she would not go into a relationship. She was not allowed to leave the house unless it was school-related or she was told to.
With all this despair in this teenage girl’s life, she only lives on the comfort of her stuffed animals. She knows that they do not talk or hug back but they are the closest she’s got to a hugger, a listener, a friend.
She never goes to bed without two or three of her beloved stuffed toys. She has about 20 of them — different animals given different names. Each one of them is special to her for each was given to her on a special day. For example, her rabbit named Dreams was given to her on her thirteenth birthday by her dad. The biggest among her collection is a beige bear with a pink nose named Berry. It was also given to her on her thirteenth birthday but by one of her schoolmates.
Amber would panic if even one of her stuffed toys became dirty or had a slit. Once in two weeks, she would get them all out, to take pictures or just to feel that she was surrounded by the ones she love.
One moonless starry night, Amber went to bed early to have a good night’s rest for the next day – Monday. She closed her eyes but before she finally went to sleep, she thought happy thoughts. Wherein she was smiling, her family’s complete, and she was surrounded by friends. If this day would happen, it would be a dream came true for her.
As she is slowly falling to deep sleep, it’s like she is going to a trance. Amber is having a dream.
She woke up in a meadow near a forest – a setting which was quite familiar to her. She stood up and walked around. She admired the landscape and the fragrance that filled the clear air. It was, indeed, refreshing. From the bushes, came out a bunny. It was leaping towards her. Amber bent down as it came nearer. When the bunny leaped into her arms, Amber noticed something. The bunny was Dreams, her rabbit stuffed toy!
She gently hugged the bunny with delight and soon came out different kinds of animals, all of which are from her stuff toy collection. She turned to her bunny and asked herself.
“Why am I dreaming all of these?”
But then, much to her surprise, Dreams answered her.
“Amber, we all have heard your cries and woes. We caught all the tears you’ve let out during those endless nights. And we see you unchanged each day.”
“Here, we hope to help you realize the greater side of your life” added Smith, a Siberian husky.
Amber was astonished. She did not know what to do. The animals started walking towards the horizon and she followed. On top of a hill, they stopped. And right there, tears of joy burst out her hazel brown eyes and down to her soft skin as she saw the most glorious sunset. She sat down surrounded by her toys. She closed her eyes and felt the heat on her skin. Her heart began to beat fast.
“Do you like it, Amber?” asked Whitney, her stuffed cat.
“I love it. What I feel now is the same feeling I had when I was seven, when my family went to that resort in Asteroids. We had a lot of fun just talking and laughing. I never felt this much happiness for a very long time” cried Amber.
She sat there for a while smiling and reminiscing the times she was happy, those times that seemed a smile could never be wiped off her face. When the sun finally went down, she opened her eyes to millions of stars that started to fill the deep blue sky. Amber became happier. She stood up and ran across the meadow with Berry. They danced and spun and laughed under the constellations.
Amber lay down on the green grass. She closed her eyes and kept a smile on her face.
The next morning, Amber woke up smiling. She had a whole new aura. She greeted and flashed a smile at anyone she passes by. Her mom was both confused and glad to the change in her daughter.
Amber started to regain her friends. She first started with the ones who were nice to her and helped her through sophomore years. She hung out with them during lunch breaks and had a chat with them on free times. Her mom, being tolerating of all this, has surprisingly allowed her to go malls with her new close friends as long as she maintains studious.
Sabrina, Camille, and Trisha were the closest to her. They frequently have fun simply by talking and laughing with each other
“What caused your sudden change of attitude, Amber?” asked Camille.
“It’s actually more of a change of heart. I just realized that I shouldn’t waste time crying at one corner when I could be enjoying what is already right in front of me” she replied.
“So, does that mean you’ll be saying yes to one of your suitors soon?” kidded Sabrina.
“Oh no, not soon but hopefully one day because I’m still testing them on their patience” winked Amber.
Fun and endless conversations filled her first week of self renewal. She had learned to adjust to her friends’ moods and she has also learned to share her knowledge with them, and they also did the same. Everything fell on perfectly.
Until one morning, Amber’s old group of friends stopped talking to her. And she knew the reason why. It was because they were jealous of her new-found friends and that they felt like Amber got stolen from them. They had no idea how this made Amber feel.
“How selfish of them!” with these words, Amber once again burst out into tears.
She sent them a group message with these words:
“Hey, I know you guys are mad at me from missing a few lunches together. I also know you guys are jealous of Sabrina, Camille, and Trisha. I just want to say that don’t be selfish. We’ve all been together for a year now and I’ve been feeling neglected by you guys the past four months. Please, don’t take away my new found happiness. It’s been a long time since I laughed this hard and smiled this big. Now, writing this letter, I’m the Amber who always cried, who was never strong and who easily gave in. Having a life changing experience doesn’t happen every day. Look in the mirror once in a while. I was not the first to do this – to bail on you, or to find other people to hang out with. I hope you read this thoroughly and understand me wholeheartedly because that’s what friends do.”
That night, a quarter moon lights up the sky. Her tears led her fast asleep. She had yet another dream.
In her dream she was walking in an endless path with dried leaves are scattered all about. She was again accompanied by her bunny Dreams. The bunny noticed the sadness in Amber’s eyes.
“I know it is hard for you to choose over your friends. I am just helping you make a decision here but, if you end up choosing your old group, there is a large possibility that you’ll go back to the Amber who is gloomy all the time. There is a chance that they will do the same things to you that hurt you. On the other hand, if you choose to be with your current friends, you are choosing to be the new Amber, one that smiles and laughs.”
Amber put a lot of thought into all this. Then she replied.
“If I choose to be with Sabrina, Camille, and Trisha, I’ll lose my friends who know me well, ones who stayed by me.”
“But dear, if they did stay by you before, why can’t they do that now? And if they do know you well, they must know your attitude and your weaknesses or at least why you became so gloomy.” Dreams pointed out.
Amber thoughts were enlightened because of this. She knew what to do. She hugged Dreams with gratitude and ran towards the end of the path. The bunny leaped by her side. They soon reached the meadow where she had her first life-changing dream. She lay down there thinking, surrounded by her stuffed toys.
“I shall apologize to them and continue my life with my new found friends” she thought.
She woke up at the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. Her mom cooked her favourite breakfast instead of just leaving her with cereal. Amber appreciated this. Her mom also transformed along with her. They enjoyed breakfast together and Amber headed off to school with the realization that her mo really loves her.
She approached Heather, Lila, and Irish – her old group “H.A.I.L.” Before she could say anything, Lila rushed to her with open arms and hugged her tight.
“I’m sorry, Amber” she cried “we all are.”
Amber’s heart melted. Her eyes became teary as she glanced at Heather and Irish’s faces. She hugged Lila back and went closer to the two to clear things out.
“So, you read my message?”
The three nodded.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I was too carried away by my new friends and classmates that I did not know that I have neglected you guys. I did not know you felt that way, Amber. And when I saw you with the other three, I felt betrayed” said Heather.
“I guess that’s what you felt too, huh” added Irish.
The four’s eyes started to be flooded with tears. None of them could speak. Amber, once again, did not know what to do. She wasn’t expecting for this to happen. Her plan was to apologize and leave the group. But, with all of these happening, she was not sure whether or not she should leave or give it another shot. Then she finally made up her mind.
“Girls, I know that we’ve been together for a while and I forgive you for everything. But, I think this would not work out. I am glad that everything is fine now but the next few days, I’m not so sure. Maybe we should stay casual and still be friends with the ones we have now” doubted Amber.
The girls put much thought of the suggestion and after much hesitation, they agreed with the plan.
“Maybe, if we’re all meant to be best friends, we’ll still end up together” cried Lila.
“Yes. And I’m prepared to lend a helping hand to any of you girls” said Irish.
They all hugged each other one last time. The bell rang and they flashed a smile of goodbye.
Amber left them with a smile and went to Sabrina and Camille who saw everything. They hugged her tight with gratitude and they went back to class together. Amber never forgot that day.
A few days later, Amber was running late. She bumped into a girl and it was Heather. They beamed at each other and caught up with lots of stories. They separated when the first school bell rang.
That afternoon, her mom was at their waiting area by the gate. They were heading to her grandfather’s grave. Unexpectedly, Amber’s dad was there too. She put up a wide grin on her face with the thought of having a complete family once more.
It was a full moon that night. Amber slept late but was still very glad. As she closed her eyes and dreamt, Dreams approached her. She ran across the meadow with all her beloved stuffed toys.
-END-
