She held up the paper crane to a tall blonde boy. “How’s this one?” He looked up from the piece of paper half folded in his hands and laughed. “That one’s awful, too. Haven’t you been learning anything from the master?” He looked at the massive pile of cranes lying between them, immediately noticing several mutilated cranes. “You’re getting better though.” He grinned playfully at her, but she was delighted about the sly appraisal that he rarely ever gave. After hurling the poorly made crane into the pile, causing a paper crane landslide, she picked up another piece of paper and promptly began on another one. Two housewives walk by the bench the two were sitting on whispering amongst themselves, not noticing that she had heard the nasty things they said about her. Looking back at the paper in his hands, the blonde boy says, “Did you know that if a thousand cranes are made, you get one wish? What would you wish for if we had a thousand cranes?” He looked up waiting for a response and saw that she was beaming as she said, “For you and me to always always be together! Promise me?” He smiled tenderly at her honesty, “You can trust me.” She stuck her pinky in his face and he wrapped his pinky around hers. Happy that he promised her, she set out to seal the deal. “You hafta help me make the thousand cranes!” She grinned at him and he couldn‘t help but grin back. “Well we’ve already got a head start. Even if they’re ugly they’ll still count for something.”
