Years ago, back in the middle 2010s, I moved to a hillside house and drove down to work every morning at about eight o’clock and came home at around five thirty. Each time I drove by, I would see a young boy at about age 15 and a large dog walking along the road. When cars would pass him on the other side, he made eye contact and waved with a toothy smile. I saw him almost every day, walking along the road and waving at cars.   Amazing?

On a rainy day, I saw him, along with his dog, sitting at the roadside. I stopped my car and got out to ask what had happened to him. “Nothing. I just want to take a break,” the boy responded. I then asked if he could need a ride. The young boy, Kevin, said, “I’m not really going anywhere, just walking, thank you anyway, sir.” I used to enjoy walking in the countryside myself, so I thought it wasn’t too odd. “In case of some emergency, or if you ever need a ride or help,” I told Kevin, “flag me down and I’ll do whatever I can.” Kevin thanked me and went on his way. Over the following days, each time we met, I would stop for a while and have a quick talk with Kevin, and his sweet dog Randy.

One afternoon, I suddenly felt a voice inside my mind: “Go back home now!” There was still one hour for work. But I asked for an early leave and drove back faster than usual. Again, I saw Kevin walking along the road. But this time he didn’t have his usual smile and was pacing rather than walking. When he saw my car, he violently flagged me down. As I got closer, I could see he was crying. “What’s wrong, Kevin?” I asked.

“We were just walking but Randy somehow dropped,” Kevin said in tears.

As I drove to the animal hospital, Kevin sat in the back and kept talking to the dog.

When I started karate (空手道) class a few years ago, I didn’t know a single person. I felt ashamed of having no idea how to do any of the moves. Even though I liked the learning part, I did not like the feeling-worse-than-everyone part!

But one day after class while I was putting my shoes on, a girl named Abigail said, “That last kick we practiced is so hard for me, and you’re so good at it.”

“You must have confused me with someone else,” I replied. “I’m not good at any of it.”

“In that case, I’m in trouble,” she joked, “because you’re the one I stand behind and copy in class.”

I laughed, “Seriously?”

“Seriously!” she laughed, too. After that, we became great friends. However, a few months later when Abigail’s mom got a job in a different state and she had to move away, I was rather sad. I had a tough time dragging myself to karate for a while after that I missed Abigail so much.

Then, a girl named Ava joined my class. She was always quiet. Until one day we finally had a conversation.

“It must be weird (怪异的) being the new one in class.” I said.

“So weird!” said Ava. “You do things really differently than we did at my old dojo (柔道馆).”

I suddenly realized she’d been silent only because she was new. We started talking more, and we got along so well that we started hanging out after class. Then, almost a year later, guess who showed up at karate.

“This is so cool.” I said, giving Abigail a huge hug. “What are you doing here?”

“My mom’s job in New York didn’t work out,” she explained. “So we got to move back.”

“That’s the best news ever!” I said. “You have to meet my dear friend Ava. And Ava, meet my dear friend Abigail.”

I put my arms around their shoulders. Feeling very excited, I told them I hoped we could get along well and be close friends, while Abigail and Ava stared at each other with some hesitation and an uncertain smile.

Things seemed all right at first.

One day, I simply could not take it anymore.

Last Christmas my older sister Jane got a unicycle (独轮脚踏车) she had requested. I thought it kind of strange, wondering why she would want something like that. She did ride and practice for a while, but eventually stopped.

Curious, I tried it, finding it very hard and thinking it impossible for a weak girl like me to learn. Since our dining room of our old house had low beams (屋梁), I used them like monkey bars to practice riding, which helped a lot. Because I thought it was really fun, I practiced every spare moment I had, teaching myself to go forwards, backwards and to turn. Practicing was something I loved to do in my spare time, but it did get discouraging when I fell. After months of practicing, I finally made it.

One morning, our teacher Maria excitedly announced that a school talent show was to be held to raise money for charity. She encouraged my classmates to sign up for it. I’m not always best in front of a crowd, which was why I was very nervous when I meant to put on my performance by doing a hula hoop (圈) and riding a unicycle on stage. But I overcame my fear and entered myself for the talent show, for which I practiced a lot in case I should mess up.

My routine (整套动作) was to do the hula hoop from my neck, down to my stomach, then to my knees. After that, I was to ride my unicycle forwards and backwards on stage. Lastly I would do the hula hoop while riding the unicycle. I was to do all this accompanied by my carefully selected music. I wondered what people from my seventh grade would think of my performance. With my friends inspiring me, I built up my confidence. On the night of the show, many people found out there was going to be a unicycle performance, so more came, even the headmaster.

Para. 1: I was both nervous and excited when it was my turn.

Para. 2: When I got home, I couldn’t wait to check my mobile phone left at home.