It was a hot Sunday afternoon. I was busy organizing and rearranging the sofa and study table in my room whilst thinking of a plan or an excuse to delay doing my homework. There was just a million things to do at home! And homework certainly was not one of them. I heard my mobile phone buzzed from somewhere…well, I’ll read whatever it is later. Right now, I am quite preoccupied. School holidays are back and there are places to go, things to do etc. Wished my favourite cousin, Ella was here……

I went down the staircase into the kitchen to find some food to eat. I was starving. After eating a big fat sumptuous sandwich, I went to the living room to see if there was any letter for me. I saw a white envelope with my name written on it lying on my mother’s table near the window. I was going to take it but my little sister took me by the hands and pulled me up the staircase and into her bedroom. She is forever forcing me to play with her. I guess I’m her favourite sister. After what seemed hours of playing with dolls, I went to the living room and took my letter. I opened the letter and read it. It was an invitation to a reunion party. It was to be held at my friend’s house in Bukit Indah. Bukit Indah is just a stone throw away from my house so, it will be easy to go.

Ella…..had she been around, I would have gone to the party with her. We had a close relationship, kind of like a big sister cum mentor I’ve never had. Ella was 4 years my senior. Every evening, Ella would come to my house to play badminton together. She was very active in sports and very good with he piano and violin. Three years ago, Ella was offered  to further her studies in the United Kingdom. We emailed each other almost every week initially but the emails soon became less frequent and in the end it stopped coming altogether. My email went unanswered up till this day. It’s like Ella had disappeared from the face of this earth. Aunt Farah, Ella’s mom was devastated. They went to London to search for her but everything failed.

The day of the party finally arrived. I dressed up in my favourite clothes, my favourite shoes and my favourite scarf. I can’t wait to go there to meet old friends! My father insisted on sending me to the party. I arrived 15 minutes earlier than everybody else. When I reached there, I saw my friend, Kira still busy setting things up for the big party. The decorations were very pretty. Kira’s party was famous for being extravagant and glamourous. She just  loves to have parties at her house.  I helped her set the food on the table. Then, my two best friends arrived at the party. They were dressed in beautiful clothes. Friends started to come to the party and music started to play. We had some fun dancing to the music.

I was standing by the punchbowl  serving myself my 3rd glass of lemonade when I saw a girl being teased  by a group of friends while struggling to tie her shoelace. It reminded me of my long lost cousin. Despite her many talents, tying shoelaces was just not one of them. But that girl could not be Ella, she didn’t look like Ella anyway… I think. I saw her walking away from her friends and noticed that she was wearing her hair just exactly as my dear cousin’s had worn hers, that funny ponytail on the left side. She also walked in a peculiar way exactly the way Ella walked. I went to quickly search for Kira and asked her who the girl was. She told me that the girl’s name was Ally and that she was her sister’s friend.

I felt this sudden urge to go up to that girl and talk to her but I was afraid. I continued to watch her from behind a corner. The more I watch, the more eager I was to talk to this girl who resembled my cousin quite so closely. I finally summoned enough courage, to go up to her. I felt like I was talking to my cousin, her voice was exactly the same as my cousin’s. I asked her about her family but I can see that she was trying to avoid talking about the subject. She quickly excused herself and walked away from me. Desperate to find out more about her,  I called her by Ella’s favourite nickname, El…To my surprise, she turned  and I could see tears rolling down her cheek. I could not stop my tears from falling as well. This was truly my long lost cousin!

I asked her why she disappeared and changed her name. Ella explained that she did not ran away on purpose. She made friends with the wrong group of people while in London. They persuaded her to think that her family was not important and that her new friends would take care of her. She believed them initially and stopped all contact with her family. After a few years, she decided she had had enough with the group and decided to return to Malaysia. She did not contact her family as she was embarrassed because she did not complete her studies. I heard her story and felt pity for her. She also told me that she has now decided to return home and meet her parents. She was going to ask her parents for forgiveness for making them worry about her. She was going to tell her parents the whole story.

Ella and I had some more fun at the party. We talked and talked and talked. There was just so many things to tell Ella. We played games and ate various types of food there. Ella gave Kira the things she bought from London. We played together throughout the night. At 11.00p.m., the party ended. Kira assembled everybody in the hall. She announced the winners and gave them prizes. Everybody thanked Kira for inviting them to the party. They enjoyed the party.  Parents started to arrive to take their children home. Everyone felt tired after the party ended.

I tried to persuade Ella to come back with me but she refused saying that she needed to prepare herself to meet her parents tomorrow. She made me promise not to tell my father about her yet. I took her contact number and promised her that I will call her tomorrow and that I will always be by her side if she ever needs me. We parted ways that night. My heart was singing, this sure was a party to remember!!!.