The little girl waited for her change patiently as the man behind the register counted out the coins carefully into her small and delicate hand. She was only seven years old and no doubt hadn't grasped the idea of a fair exchange from vendor to customer just yet, as the most she knew was to hand over money and receive a bag of goodies in exchange. Simple, and yet effective.

The man smiled warmly down at her and made sure she tucked her coins into her purse before she set off again to do goodness knows what. He ruffled her light brown hair affectionately and told her to come back just before the stall closed as he might have a little something extra for his favorite customer. She giggled childishly at him and ran off towards the other waiting children –all about her own age- and slowed to a walk when they turned back towards the local park to hang out.

They all had a bag of goodies each to share quite a substational lunch –some with lollies, others with potato chips and even some bought drinks. They laughed, and joked and played all the way to the park. Setting out a thin blanket that one of the more responsible kid's had brought, they set their shared prizes down and went off to play. Of course, they did not stray far from their lunch and kept the food in view at all times. It wouldn’t do for any of the bigger kids to come back and help themselves without contributing to the pot. Not that they would anyway –they were way too cool to be caught hanging with young kids even if they did have awesome lunches.

The little girl made a beeline for the swings while the others ran for a bright soccer ball. They called out, waving for her to go join them but she smiled and yelled back.

“The teams won't be even if I play!”

With than understanding they began to play, now remembering that one of the other boys was at home sick because of the venom vaccines they all had to take on their seventh birthday. He would be fine in a few days.

Content to be there by herself, humming a soft melody she watched the others play with a small smile on her pretty face. It was a nice day, the sun wasn’t too hot, the wind was soft and sand didn’t get into unwanted places. Yes, a perfect day for hanging out at the park.

Absently the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a lollie pop that she had bought at the shop, deciding to have it now rather than later. Shoving the rubbish into her pocket she popped the lolly into her mouth and began to suck and slurp with content. It was her favorite –strawberry.

“Do you… do you always get to play with them?” a quiet and timid voice sounded just behind the little girl. She jumped at the sudden noise and then began to giggle at her own folly. Really, she should have known there was another person there.

“Yup.”

She glanced back and flinched. It was the monster boy that everyone –even the grownups- were terrified of. He wasn’t all that scary to look at –it was the something bad inside controlling the sand to do bad things that was scary. He had messy red hair and very, very pale skin. She could tell he didn’t go outside very much but the sand twirled around his feet and legs like an eager cat purring to her master. His green eyes were weary and mistrusting –like the little girl would lash out and hit him for no reason at all.

“How… how do you talk to them? Do they… they listen?”

The little girl nodded stiffly, though her brows were knitted together in thought. And then she did what no other kid had ever done to him.

She popped the lollie pop from her mouth and held it out for the monster boy.

“I’ve only got this one. Do you want it?”

He blinked so many times that the girl almost laughed out loud and popped it back in her mouth again. “Well, maybe not. Don’t want you catching cooties.” She said seriously.

The monster boy watched as the offering was shoved back into her mouth and his bottom lip quivered slightly. No one had ever offered him an item of any kind other than those to sharpen his already exceptional skills as a shinobi in training.

The girl saw the sad look in his eye and pulled it back out again, grinning all the while. “Boy, if wanted it you should have said so. Now, do you want it or not?”

“Yes.”

She held it out for him to take, but the boy was shaking. He looked like he had a sore tummy or something.

“Hey… are you okay?”

“Get… away… from me!” he struggled to say. He dropped to his knees as his head reached up to his head. Water fell from his eyes, and his breathing grew hoarse and erratic. He started screaming- as if he were in pain. “Go!”

The girl jumped down from the swing and ran as fast as she could towards her friends.  She grabbed one of the boys by the hand and made him run with her. The others, thinking it was a game, started to chase after them with laughter and teasing remarks.

When they were far far away, the little girl dropped to her knees and started to cry uncontrollably. Her little heart was racing and the fear she felt towards the monster boy increased tenfold. She was vaguely aware of the kids who tried to help her up and figure out what was wrong but she couldn’t talk at all.

They took her home and left her with her sister to take care of, promising that they would come back later to see if she was okay.

She promised herself to never talk to the monster boy again.