Have you ever acted hastily and lost something or someone, furthermore regretting it? Well, this is a story from my short life when I was five years old, the time when my family and I used to live in an apartment. At my apartment I had a few friends, one that lived right next door to me and another that lived on the bottom floor. I used to play around with these friends of mine everyday after daycare, and I used to have a lot of enjoyable moments and conversations with them, but this story is about the day I got so angry with one of my friends I never saw him again.

       On my fifth birthday I didn’t even realize it was my birthday, so I was surprised when my parents showed me the tiny red motorbike for my birthday. I was so happy and shocked I just stopped moving for a minute, and then I laughed and immediately sat on the bike, hands gripping, as my parents tried to show me how to use it; I spent the rest of the evening riding it around. 

       The next few weeks passed by with me riding my tiny red motorbike everyday as it roared like a lion while I rode it, but one day after I came back from daycare I saw my dad stuffing my motorbike in the dumpster. Eyes flowing, I cried and asked him to stop and to take it out, but he told me the battery had died, and he didn’t know how to fix it. For the second time I just stopped and didn’t move, but after a minute I just started to go back inside the apartment and didn’t say anything else. Another few weeks passed by, but this time not with the happiness that I had my bike, but with the sadness that my bike was gone and my parents weren't going to get another one for me.

       One day I was trying to feel better and get outside to play with my friends, so I went and played for hours and hours; it was like watching a clock tick, and eventually they made me forget about my little red motorbike. The next day I came back to play again, but I could not find my friend that lived downstairs, so I ran to his apartment as the grass grazed my legs and the sun was slowly coming down, but then I saw it, my little red motorbike. My friend was riding around on it, and his parents were laughing, but then he saw me and he came to play with me. As we were playing my head was being flooded with so many questions, but I didn't know which one to ask. As time passed I started thinking about the bike and finally got the courage to ask my friend where he bought the motorbike, and then he said it, his dad found it in the dumpster. When I asked him how his dad got it working he told me his dad was a mechanic and that was it, I lost my control and threw a stick at him.

       Immediately after I threw the stick he went inside and told his parents. After two seconds his entire family came outside looking angry, like a bear that had its nose stung by a bee, but they didn’t say anything. They just quickly walked away, but until I slowly followed them I didn’t realize that they weren't walking to some random place, they had walked to my apartment. By the time I went inside my friend and his parents were done talking to my parents and were just about to leave. As they were leaving I walked slowly towards my parents with my head faced to the ground. Body trembling, I brought my head up, and that was the most disappointed look my parents had ever given me. I felt like I’d lost ten years of my life just listening to their dissapointment. I was grounded. 

       Weeks passed by, and I couldn’t stop thinking about that incident as well as my parents were thinking of moving out of the apartment and living in our own house. After the builders were done with the house we started slowly shipping all of our stuff there and slowly moved out of our apartment. After I moved I never saw my friend again.

        That day I lost valuable memories and moments with my friend along with my friend himself. This memory happened almost eight years ago, so after I moved to my house I slowly began to forget my memories with my friend along with his name and his face. That day I learned never to act in haste or anger because sometimes it just might ruin the small things in life which caused the great memories. I should have tried to convince my parents to get me another little red motorbike, but I acted without thinking, and instead of thinking a little further into the future I acted in anger, which ruined one of my best friendships. Next time you are angry with someone or at something that is important to you and a main part of your life, don't act hastily; talk it through with someone. It will change your relationships and your life.

-Dhruv K.