Our Neighbourhood

Our Neighborhood

This story is about me, my friends and our beautiful neighborhood outside the hustle and bustle of city noise and pollution.

I am 12 and live next to Timmy my best friend. Timmy is only eight and never been to school. His parents are pilots and they fly all over the country. They have even travelled as far as Australia during one of their trips.

Uncle Tom lives opposite us; he is really old and used to be in the Foreign Legions. He was posted for many years in the Middle East and was also part of The Desert Storm. He usually has many stories to tell us and we spend at least one hour with him every day.

The favorite story that we both like is the one when the tank he used to drive went into a big ditch and almost toppled over. The crew tied a rope around a palm tree and used that to pull up the tank. But little did they realize how the tree was shaken that when the tank came back on the ground and they were standing around appreciating their work, a coconut fell straight on Uncle Toms head and he fainted. He still has a little bump which he lets us touch every time he tells his story.

Annabelle lives next to Uncle Tom and she sings so very beautifully. In her days, she was an Opera singer and often entertains us with some of her famous numbers. She still wears the silk gowns that singers used to wear and keeps her long blonde hair in a bun.

Down the road there are two empty plots but we have turned that into our play ground. We play cops and robbers and sometimes also cowboys and Indians there. The trees and bushes make good hiding places so we really enjoy ourselves. Sometimes the plot gets mowed and then we have to wait for fresh bushes to grow.

Donald Trump lives next door, his place is really swank and we often just pass by to see if someone famous is visiting. We used to see his third wife often but not anymore. The only regular visitor is his young daughter. He is one of the few who rarely comes out and mixes with others. Some say he is very rich but some say he has lost everything.

Arnold, Tim and I are best of friends; Arnold lives down the road but always comes by around 10ish. Then the three of us play games in the empty plot and run around up and down the lanes in our neighborhood. By 12, most people have come out and are moving about doing their own business. Sometimes some of the old timers get together for a game of cards, or smoke some cigars. One of them, Missy Boo is very old and she usually just walks to the end of the street and looks over the bushes mumbling away to herself.

This is our neighborhood, we have learned to love it and live each day happily.

However, there is one day that I like the best; it used to come far more often earlier but only comes once a year nowadays.They mow the grass that has grown high and clear all the weeds. The marble stone is cleaned well and some fresh flowers are placed there before saying a prayer and then .......

...............I watch my parents walk hand in hand out of the cemetery.

-The End -