A New Best Friend

“A New Best Friend” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Aishnah Mohammad Yunus, Artistic Strategies Academy, Singapore.

A New Best Friend

“Swoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!” Tiana’s plane was landing on the runway of Singapore. Tiana was a 21-year old lady who had golden hair and green eyes. She wanted to become a professional photographer to capture the rarity of sculptures and cultures. She was coming to Singapore from France for a 25-day trip to take pictures of popular tourist attractions.

After Tiana had collected her baggage from the luggage collection point, she explored the airport and was amazed by the decorations that looked so different from those in France. She was also fascinated by the warm behaviour of the locals at the airport. After roaming around for quite a while, she was exhausted and decided to hail a taxi from the taxi point. “Aah!” she sighed in relief. “Excuse me,” she said. “Do you have any idea about cheap hotels for tourists around here?” she enquired from the taxi driver. “This is one of the most expensive countries in the world so I don’t really know,” he said.

“Looks like I will have to spend my night here!” she sighed. It was 8.15pm and Tiana was at Gardens by the Bay. She was really curious to see the Super Trees. She had done some research about it on internet before coming to Singapore. For some reason, that night was very special. She sensed that something different was going to happen.

As Tiana took out her camera, a crowd rushed past her like lightning. She was shocked and her heart was beating fast. She moved towards the super trees which looked like massive flowers which were of pleasant colours with lights coming out of them. She elbowed her way through the crowd. Suddenly, a man pushed Tiana down. “Ouch!” she groaned. A few moments later, a girl who looked her age, lent her a hand and helped her up. “I can barely move my body! Thank you so much for helping me!” Tiana thanked the kind lady who had jet black hair and brown eyes. “What is your name?” they both asked each other spontaneously and introduced themselves. Tiana told her new friend, Laura, her story. “Don’t worry, you can stay at my house,” Laura said. “Really! Thank you so much!” Tiana said as she was over the moon.

Laura introduced Tiana to her family members. The moment she entered Laura’s household, Tiana heard soothing music that made her feel calm and rejuvenated. Tiana was touched by their hospitality as they made her feel at home and treated her like family. Laura brought Tiana to many popular places in Singapore like The Esplanade and The Botanic Gardens. Laura also gifted her a new camera because Tiana had lost her sin the stampede. Tiana thanked Laura to the fullest and the both of them became the best of friends in no time.

Soon, it was time for Tiana to leave. It was a very sad moment for both Laura and Tiana. Yet, Tiana was very happy too. She could not wait to go back and tell her own family about Laura and her experiences in Singapore. She gave her new family a warm hug and waved goodbye. “Please visit my family and I in France soon!” she said.

They stayed in touched and both learned the importance of friendship and how it could change one’s life.