The house has a nice big porch with a black awning. Golden bricks surround the front of the house with a bright red door hidden behind the decorative iron screen door. In the side yard lays a hug swimming pool, a wooden deck, a small patio, a pond and a sitting area down below. Inside is an old couple who have four children. Each of their children has grown up and started their own family, but still they all stay very close.


It was seven or eight years ago when one son would bring his younger daughter over and begin a long lasting friendship. She has three older siblings but no younger. The little girl had long blonde hair, always pulled up and she carried her stuffed duck everywhere. One summer day, I saw her dad’s car pull up. When she got out, I decided to approach her and say hi. She was very shy but after her dad pushed her up to the railing, she quietly said hi back. After a moment of silence I introduced myself and she did the same. Her dad asked if she wanted to stay outside with me and she said yes. We sat on the porch and talked for a little until her dad took her home. From then on we sat on the porch and talked or played together in the old couple’s house. This is where I was introduced to the family and over time grew as one of them.

Today, the old couple still lives in that house, the bricks weathered and awning dirty it still resembles the place our friendship began. We still sit on the porch in the summer when she comes over. The pool is finally being torn down to put in a new in ground one. The wooden deck is also leaving for a new one to take its place. Her father who was just the old couple’s child now calls me his other daughter. The old couple who were once strangers have grown old and are no longer just the old couple who lived next door. They are part of my family, a family I made one summer day.