"Associative Looseness"

There was once a little girl named Yolanda. She was not pretty, she was not perfect, she was not smart...she was just, ordinary. No one knew her name, they just know her as the girl in class. She was the one always referred to by teachers as "You, with the ponytail, stand up." She was just there, unknown...transparent...invisible.

Yolanda had one friend though, his name was Castro. He was always there in the morning waking up Yolanda by throwing pebbles at her window. He would pick her up everyday, walk to school with her and they would spend countless hours together. They would run up and down the hill from school, breathless but laughing. Some kids would look at them and Castro would cover Yolanda and urge her to race home. They would dash again and one time Yolanda fell down. Castro stood tall over her but he never reached down to help her.
"Get up!", he said.
"Help me, please?" asked Yolanda.
But Castro just stood there smiling, "Cmon loser, you fell down, you can get up."
"I can't. My knee is bleeding."
Castro squatted infront of Yolanda and gently said, "If I help you now, who will help you when I'm gone? So, cmon and stand up. You can do it. I'll wait for you at your house."
Then off he ran leaving Yolanda in tears.

When Yolanda got home she did not see Castro waiting for her. She was devastated. She was heartbroken. Castro abandoned her. Just like the rest of the kids in school. He didn't want to help her. She went to the kitchen to wash her knee when her mother saw her. She helped her into the tub and gently caressed her bruised knee. She didn't ask what happened for a mother knew everything even before a child confesses. She wiped Yolanda's tears and told her to get out of her soiled uniform and change into clean clothes.

Yolanda, still teary-eyed asked her mother, "Ma, did you see Castro waiting for me outside?"
Yolanda's mother lovingly cupped her face with both of her hands and hesitated before speaking. She cannot find the right words to tell Yolanda what happened. She took a deep breath and kissed Yolanda's forehead.
"Ma, what is it?"
"How old are you now Yolanda?"
"I'm twelve Mama."

(to be cont...)