A few days later,
Shirley offered to show Weng a park where people sing.
One group was about to start an opera
and its members were setting out colorful stools
for anyone willing to stay.
Weng bought Shirley an ice cream.
“Wish Melody was here,” she said.
“It’s good to have a best friend.”
Shirley nodded. “Do you have one?”
Weng thought about it. “I used to.”
“What happened to them?”
“We no longer speak.”
“That’s weird.”
“When you care about someone, Shirley, you do what is right
for them—which may not be what you want
or what makes you happy.”
Shirley licked her ice cream. “Is that why you
had to go away for so long?”
“And why I have to go away again,” Weng said.