1. LOST
SUMMARY:
Hi! I am Jennifer and my best friend is Leah. We both were
progressing on and on and our life was moving ahead smoothly
enough. Suddenly, a twist came in our life. Now, another
obstacle has knocked the door of our life. My friend is very
superstitious. She has lost her lucky bracelet, her LUCKY
CHARM which was not only lucky for her, but also very special
and close to her heart. Now, do you think she will be able to
find her lucky charm or will she find something even better or it
can even be nothing. Will both of us be able to maintain the
same kind of friendship or will it increase or it’ll just be
finished? Am really scared. Every journey of ours has a happy
ending but this time am very doubtful because I wonder how
will we come to a happy ending?..
INTRODUCTION:
I am Jennifer, nick named as Jen. I live in New Jersey, United
States. I have a younger brother named Jason. He is really
diminutive for he is just two months old. So, he can never
advise in any of the issues I face in my daily life. This is the
reason, I always wish that I had an elder brother who could
help me but my mom says that it’s alright to have a younger
brother for when he grows up, then I can help him but I don’t
2. think that it’s alright. Anyways, I still have to accept it for I can
never change the reality. Besides all this, I am a seventh grader
who loves going to school as I’ve a number of friends but my
best of all friends is Leah. I love hanging out & spending time
with her. I don’t like superstitious people as they do quite silly
things. Leah is superstitious as well as a bit silly but she is
unique, so, I still like her. Sometimes, I get too tired and
frustrated when she tells me silly stories and facts like keeping
a rabbit’s leg with you is lucky or keeping right foot in the room
first is good and many more. She can tell 100 of facts like these.
She blindly believes in luck, fate, destiny and all stuff like that.
This is a big reason for our fights and arguments. Sometimes,
we even fight because of miscommunication but when at the
end we get to know the real thing, we both burst into laughter.
Sometimes, she is humorous but many a times, she is ferocious.
I don’t like the ferocious part of her because when we fight,
then, she really gets mad at me and I don’t like it at all. Well,
sometimes, I think that fights and arguments are good for
increasing the bonding and friendship between friends but it’s
not good always as it can lead to even another way round.
Ha!ha! Apart from this, most imperatively, 25th of January is
Leah’s birthday and as always I am very excited for her
birthday. She always decides something memorable about her
birthday gift that feels is the best. She does that when she
unwraps and looks at the gifts. The decision made by her is like
3. “My best birthday gift” or something like that. I know that is
quite strange and unique but this always attracts everyone to
come to her birthday party. I am invited at her birthday party
for obvious reasons but only I am the one who is invited the
day before her birthday party as a helping hand for the
decorations and arrangements for the party. Moreover, this
time I can even sense that something special rather, call it
awful or awkward is going to take place. I guess that some twist
or some obstacle is going to knock the door of our life.
THE STORY BEGINS:
“TRRRRING!”. “I think the bell rang, Jen. I am doing an
important work, Could you, please go and open the door and
see who it is?” said my mother.
“Sure mom”, I replied her. As I opened the door, I saw Leah.
“Hey! Come in”, I said. “Look Jen, I am not coming anywhere.
Don’t you remember that you had to come to place at 5 pm
and now it is 5:30. I am waiting for you since half an hour. Just
inform your mom and rush with me” Leah anxiously said.
“I am sorry! I forgot that it was 5:30 and I had to come at your
place. I’ll just inform mom in two minutes”, I replied, trying to
make excuses.
“You should eat almonds to sharpen your memory”, Leah said
humorously.
4. “Ha!ha!” I chuckled. “Stop that now, you silly girl” I told her.
“Mom, I am leaving with Leah. I need to go with her for helping
her out for her birthday arrangements”, I quickly informed
mom.
“Bye kids!” mom said.
As we were walking down the road to Leah’s home, I asked her,
“Leah, is there something different that is going to take place at
your birthday party this time regarding your gift?” Leah was
flabbergasted and was looking at me with her mouth open.
“How do you know, Jen?” she asked me.
“I don’t know but I just sensed it. Well, what is it?” I asked.
“Actually, my dad had gone on a business trip and it was next to
impossible for him to return before my birthday, so, I was really
upset because this was happening for the first time. But today,
when I got the good news that my father’s work is over and he
is returning a day before my birthday, so, whatever gift my
father gets for me will be the best gift and I’ll always use it as
my LUCKY CHARM”, Leah told me.
“Oh! I see. That’s nice” I replied. As we reached Leah’s home,
she rang the bell, “Trrrrrrrring!!” “Hello girls!” said her mother.
“Hello Mrs. Willsom”, I greeted her mother too.
5. “Mom, we are immediately getting started with our
arrangements”, Leah told her mother. “Alright, dear”, replied
her mom. “I’ll help you too”.
We started with our arrangements. Everyone was busy with
their assigned duties. When we were almost through with our
work, just then Leah said, “Mom, I told you about my LUCKY
CHARM which is going to be dad’s gift. Right? Do you
remember?”.
“Oh Yes! I do remember but I told you that all these stuff are
not real, but it is just about your attitude that matters but till
the time your attitude is good, I would never force you to stop
believing in all this, but yes, you never have to be dependent on
all these things. Do I make my point clear to you?” replied her
mother.
“Yes mom”, Leah said. Our arrangements were then completed.
“One day to go”, said Leah.
“Yes! I am as always so excited for your birthday”, I said. “Well,
now I need to leave for I have to complete my homework. See
you tomorrow at your birthday party. Bye!”
“Bye!” replied Leah excitedly. Atlast, Leah’s birthday for which I
had been waiting since so long was here. It was the 25th of
January morning. I rushed up and got ready for the party. I
6. wrapped the gift I was gifting her and left. As I reached her
home I rang the bell, “Trrrring!”.
Leah opened the door. “A very happy birthday, Leah!” I shouted
handing over the gift to her.
“Thank you, Jen!” Leah replied broadly smiling. “You are the
first one to come, Jen!” she continued. We chatted for a little
while and all her friends came in one by one. The party started
and everyone was busy enjoying in games, dance and much
more. After the cake was cut, Leah announced the decision she
had taken about the gift and told the whole story about it to
everyone as she had already told me. The party came to an end
and everyone moved to their houses. I reached home and slept.
Next morning I got up and went to school. When I reached the
school, Leah showed me the gift that her dad had gifted her. It
was a beautiful blue bracelet. I was glad to see such a beautiful
thing my best friend had got.
Leah said, “This birthday of mine was showered with gifts. Dad
his brought many but I found this one the prettiest. I would
now carry this gift everywhere I go and at night, I would safely
keep it in my wardrobe”. I didn’t react much on this statement
of hers. This was now a part of her daily routine-carrying the
bracelet, then coming back and keeping it in her wardrobe. The
next day were the tryouts of a singing competition and each
seventh-grade girl was trying out for it and all of them were
7. really excited. Leah really had a marvelous voice and used to
sing tremendously well but I was just trying out to accompany
her. At the end, she was the only one who got selected to go to
the competition at last. After this event, her belief in her lucky
charm had become even stronger. The same evening, we
decided to go for shopping as it was a weekend. On the way, I
felt like something fell. I told Leah but she said that it was
nothing but just a stone that my foot felt the touch of. I agreed
to her and walked further. When we were done, I dropped Leah
and reached home. I was quite tired but I just showed Mom
whatever we bought. Then I jumped into my bed and slowly
closed my eyes and went into my dream world. Next morning I
got up thinking, it was literally a good morning but I was totally
wrong about this fact because the same evening I got to know
that Leah wasn’t out of her room since night because after
coming back she got to know that she had lost her lucky
bracelet. She wasn’t eating anything and she didn’t even have a
single drop of water in her room to drink. Finally, when I went
and begged her number of times to open the room, then only
she opened it and only let Me come in. I went in and saw that
her eyes were bloodshot red. I first told her to wash her face.
Then, she came and sat. I sat with her, keeping my hand calmly
on her shoulder.
“Leah, look, this was just a small little thing which is separated
from you. You should not be dependent on things always. It
8. might be possible that this event happened to indicate that it
was time you stopped believing in values like luck and all. You,
for sure, have to loose things some or the other way but you
shouldn’t be so upset because you have to use things not love
them. It’s time you changed your attitude towards these
things.” I said, indeed thinking that I was quite good at
counseling.
“I will try Jen”, Leah said in a low voice, with a plastic smile.
“Thank you Jen!” I smiled at her. The next two days, I noticed
her in school with a changed attitude but a NEGATIVE change.
She had lost her optimism. I thought she needed a counseling
class again and as a friend, in fact best friend, I had to help her
out. I called her at my home in the evening. She was there on
time.
“Where have you lost your smile and optimism, Leah?” I said
seriously.
“I am trying Jen” Leah said rudely.
I replied “I know it is very difficult but you have to try your level
best”. After a silence of two minutes I thoughtfully said, “Look
Leah, please don’t be mad at me. I don’t want to fight with you
but just want to give you a tip. Just replace your lucky thing
with your lucky attitude, you carried your lucky charm
everywhere with you and in this case, you have no options as
you have to carry your attitude everywhere and it can never be
9. lost. So, the lucky attitude is better. The optimism will be back.
This way is easy for you. This is all I wanted to say; now it is all
your choice. You want to take my advice or not. And even you
might agree to what I say.” I thought that I ended my advice in
such a way that I was selling something to her but all that Leah
did was banged the door and went. She didn’t react to anything
that I said. I didn’t understand that was she still mad at me or
not. Next day we met in school and she wasn’t mad at me. I
could see five percent of the real ‘Leah’. I thought she was
applying what I had sold her. Ha! Ha! ha! The next few days I
noticed her and I was really happy because she had a positive
change in her. She was working really hard and was
progressing. And in a few more days, seventy five percent of
the real ‘Leah’ was back. The same day Leah replied, “Jen, you
remember that I was selected when I gave try outs for singing
competition, the inter-school competition is being held after 2
more days and I am very excited.”
“Wow, that’s great, but who told this to you?”
“Miss Bela, music teacher” she replied.
I was very happy for her. On the day of her competition, the
hall was all filled and I sat in the first row. Leah had the fifth
performance in the order. She was awesome, flawless and what
not. Everyone loved her performance and she got a standing
ovation. She was the winner in the star of the show as expected
10. but it was a big thing to win a competition out of 22 schools.
After the competition, she came running and hugged me
tightly, saying “All credit goes to you for this, you were the one
who changed my attitude and your magic words meant so
much to me.” No, they were all your efforts and if she weren’t
determined, my magic words could also never change you. We
both had tears in our eyes and looking at this we both laughed
out loudly together. I had got hundred percent of Leah back.
And I was on the top of the world. I realized that our bonding
had increased even more. Anyway, “all is well that ends well.”
Everything happens for good. Leah’s lucky charm was also lost
but for good. Or it changed her in such a new and better ‘Leah’.
It finally is a happy ending.
