A woman stood at the door, accompanied by her daughter, who was holding a small light blue bicycle. The girl looked sleepy, her hair falling over her shoulders, while her mother knocked on the wooden door softly.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Moments later, footsteps were heard from inside."Yes, just a moment…" came a hoarse voice from within Tufi's mother, just awakened from sleep. The wooden door creaked open, revealing a thin woman with tired eyes.
"Excuse me, ma'am," the young woman said softly. "I'm your new neighbor, from the end of the road. This is my daughter's bike. May I leave it here for a while? Our house is still messy no place to put it yet."
Tufi's mother nodded kindly. "Oh, sure, that's fine. Just leave it by the wall there."
The little girl slowly led her bike onto the porch, then looked up at her mother. "Mom, I'm scared if you leave me…" she whispered.
The woman smiled gently. "It's okay, just for a little while." Tufi's mother noticed, she nodded and smiled. "When your house is ready, you can come get it anytime."
They both said goodbye and walked away, leaving behind the small blue bike now leaning against the wooden wall of Tufi's home. The dawn wind still blew softly. Inside, the only sound was running water Tufi was bathing, getting ready for school. He had no idea a little guest had just arrived.
After finishing his bath, Tufi sat on the floor, drying his hair with a worn towel. The cheap soap smell lingered on his skin. He put on his blue and white school uniform that his mother had ironed the night before. When he stepped out to the porch, his eyes caught something strange a small blue bike he had never seen before. The paint gleamed, still new, with a tiny ribbon hanging from the handlebar.
"Mom," he said, pointing at it, "whose bike is that?"
His mother, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, answered without turning around, "Someone left it this morning. Said she's a new neighbor. It belongs to her daughter."
"Oh…" Tufi nodded slowly. "A girl, huh?"
"Yes. Her name's Shelly, if I heard right."
That name echoed faintly in his head, though he didn't know who she was yet. Breakfast was simple that morning. His father was still asleep. As usual, only Tufi and his mother sat at the small table.
"Don't forget to say goodbye when you leave," said his mother, glancing at his plate. "Study well, okay? I'll be washing the neighbors' clothes again today." Tufi nodded. "Okay, Mom."
He ate quickly and packed his school bag. Before leaving, he looked again at the blue bike. For some reason, he felt strange as if that bike carried something new into his life. The schoolyard was already lively when Tufi arrived. Children ran around, laughing and playing tag. Others chatted near the classroom door. Among them, Rocky waved from afar.
"Tufi! Over here!"
Tufi jogged toward his new friend. "You came early, Rok."
"Yeah," Rocky said. "Teacher Siska said there'll be a new transfer student today."
"A transfer student?"
"Yeah, a girl, I think."
Tufi nodded lightly but didn't think much of it. He and Rocky entered the classroom together. When the bell rang, all the children returned to their seats. Miss Siska stood at the front, smiling warmly while holding a list of names.
"Children," she said softly, "today we have a new friend joining our class. She just moved here from a nearby village. Please welcome her kindly, okay?"
The classroom door opened, and a small girl stepped in slowly. She wore a neat uniform, her hair tied in two with a little red ribbon on one side. Her face was gentle, her skin clean, and her eyes sparkled like morning sunlight. The class fell silent.
"Hello," the girl said in a soft but clear voice, "my name is Shelly. I moved to this village last week." The name made Tufi's heart pound: Shelly.
The classroom instantly filled with whispers and murmurs. Some students giggled, some looked amazed even Rocky glanced at Tufi and grinned.
"Please sit next to Lily," said Miss Siska. "You two can help each other later."
Shelly nodded, walking quietly to sit beside Lily the little girl who had always been close to Tufi. Lily's eyes shone as she turned to Shelly. "Hi! I'm Lily! My house is near the rice fields!" Shelly smiled kindly. "Hi! I'm Shelly. My house is at the west end of the road."
Class went on as usual. Miss Siska taught letters and numbers on the board while the children wrote in their notebooks. But Tufi's attention often drifted toward Shelly's desk. He didn't know why his eyes kept finding her.
When the recess bell rang, the kids rushed out of the classroom some to the canteen, some to play outside. Tufi stayed seated, staring at his drawing paper. He wanted to talk to Shelly, but didn't know how to start. He took a deep breath, ready to stand but stopped when someone else walked ahead of him. Vito. The rich kid. His hair was neatly combed, his clothes smelled good. He walked confidently toward Shelly with a bright smile.
"Hi, you're Shelly, right? I'm Vito. My house is near the big road, the one with the white car."
Shelly turned and smiled politely. "Yes, hello."
Vito chuckled. "Do you like riding bikes? I have two at home. You can come play sometime if you want."
Some kids nearby laughed, circling them curiously. Tufi just sat there, looking down. Inside his chest, something heavy pressed. He wasn't angry just sad. He knew, with his worn out shirt and torn bag, he couldn't talk as easily as Vito could. He looked at his hands, then at his drawing paper. The pencil lines blurred before his eyes.
Lily, sitting not far from him, noticed his gloomy face. "Tufi, what's wrong?" she asked softly.
Tufi shook his head. "Nothing…"
But his smile didn't appear. The school day ended that afternoon. The children cheered when the bell rang, running out happily. Tufi walked home slowly, kicking small pebbles along the dirt road. The sun leaned low, painting the world golden. He thought about many things about Shelly, about the blue bike, about Vito and his laughter. Deep inside, he felt something strange a mix of admiration, shyness, and envy.
When he reached home, he froze. There, on the porch, stood that same blue bike. But this time, beside it, two familiar figures a woman and a little girl. Shelly and her mother.
The woman was speaking with Tufi's mother. "Thank you, ma'am, for keeping the bike. Sorry for the trouble."
"Oh, not at all," said Tufi's mother warmly. "It's no trouble at all."
Shelly stood next to her mother, holding the bike's handle. She looked neat and clean, her hair just like that morning at school. At that moment, their eyes met just for a second, through the window curtain. Tufi stood quietly behind the fabric, too shy to step out.
Shelly raised her small hand, waving lightly toward the window, as if she somehow knew someone was watching. But Tufi quickly ducked, hiding behind the faded curtain. He felt embarrassed not from fear, but from difference. His dirty clothes, cracked floor, all of it made him feel small.
Shelly and her mother said goodbye, pushing the bike away down the road. Tufi's mother closed the door gently, then turned to her son standing near the window. "That was Shelly, the bike's owner. Turns out she's your schoolmate, huh?"
Tufi swallowed and nodded slowly. "Yeah, Mom…"
His mother smiled. "She's a pretty girl, isn't she?"
"Yes…" Tufi answered softly, almost a whisper.
He then walked into his room, sat on the floor, and looked at his sketchbook. He opened to the last blank page and began to draw not a house, not a tree, but a bicycle. A small, light blue bicycle. He drew carefully, each line gentle and full of meaning. Beside the bike, he drew a small boy standing himself and in the corner of the picture, a small smiling sun.
He didn't know why, but drawing that made his heart a little calmer. That night, Tufi sat outside, staring at the sky full of stars. In the distance, crickets chirped.
"Mom," he called softly.
His mother, on the porch, turned. "Yes, dear?"
"What if… someone's better than us — richer, prettier, smarter… does that mean fate isn't fair?"
His mother was silent for a moment, then came to sit beside him. "Fate isn't about fair or unfair, sometimes it just asks us to learn acceptance, not comparison."
Tufi looked at the sky again. "But it hurts, Mom. It feels like everyone's luckier than me."
His mother smiled gently and patted his head. "Maybe right now you don't understand why fate gave you this life. But someday, you will. Sometimes… fate isn't cruel — it just wants us to be strong."
Tufi nodded quietly. His heart still felt heavy, but her words stayed in his mind. That night, before sleeping, he looked again at his drawing — the blue bike and the smiling sun above it. He smiled faintly.