Unlikely

Sarah and Tamara were a strange pair; no one knew how they got along, nor how they decided what to do together. They were living on two completely different wavelenths - they were like day and night.

Sarah was nothing short of bubbly, enthusiastic, loud, and -

well – rosey. Her wardrobe was to the taste of that compared to a five year old

girl: pastel, cute and mostly pink. She referred to it as ‘kawaii’ or ‘e-girl’

style. Her appearance made to look purposefully innocent and soft, younger even,

with blushing cheeks and doe-eyes sparkling. She loved anything fluffy in the

range of animals, she was artsy, enjoyed baking, as well as watched anime and a

lot of cartoons, mostly that for kids.

Her energy was always unmatched by everyone around her, not that she was trying to hog the lime light, but attention was always drawn to her like a moth to a flame, and she always burned brightly, her energy crackling. She was that friendly girl that would complement you when you had no idea who she was, she was the cause of any birth of laughter from friends, her always being the loudest chuckle.

Her room was the same colour as all her clothes, with accents of purples and blues for a galaxy effect painted on the walls. Plushies scattered her bed, with furry blankets piled like fresh snow. She even had pink hair, a fair shade, not dark or luminescent, but baby-like, as well.

Everything about her appeared pure and child-like.

Let’s meet Tamara: the quiet, antisocial, introverted girl with an eerily dark way about her who everyone knows, but never talks to – not out of rude nature, but because she never encouraged conversation.

She was more than shy, she kept her nose in her books, her head in the clouds, and her mouth usually shut. She found the discussion of everyday life to ‘catch up’ rather exhausting and unnecessary; people putting on their friendly facades only so they can get to hear all the gossip… it interested her in the least.

That was what everyone said her problem was: she was too pessimistic, apparently. Her poetry put people off, apparently making people feel unhappy – yes her poetry was sad, but she found beauty in the rawness, even in death.

She wore nothing but black, grey being her one varying shade in her barely changing attire. For someone who was as timid as she was, she didn’t dress for it; usually wearing black lace and leather harnesses with spikes and chains to add an edge, her make up light, but still dark around the eyes for a dramatic flare, with a pierced nose and the scent of cigarettes trailing behind her.

She was obsessed with the more misunderstood creatures: reptiles, amphibians, arachnids… it wasn’t a trait a lot of people shared with her, but it was one way to get her to talk endlessly.

She spent a lot of time in nature, usually alone, that is, until she’d met Sarah.

Truth be told, the two of them disliked each other upon first meeting. No surprise there to either of them, but Sarah found Tamara to be as gloomy and dark as Tamara found her irritatingly bright. They clashed in pretty much every way, the only reason they ever spoke in the first place being their mutual friend, Henry. He was a misfit that fit in with everyone and no one at the same time. He knew everyone, and everyone was his friend, but he didn’t belong to a single group, more drifted between them, like an astronaut between the planets, searching for his next base.

He for some reason thought they’d get along, so invited them out for something neither of them could resist – coffee. If there was anything they were a sucker for, it was freshly ground, takeaway coffee, but that was all they enjoyed about the meet.

Months had passed and Tamara was working with the spiders in a pet shop when, to her surprise, Sarah ran into the section, eyes beaming, voice chirpy and yelped out “Hi! Oh my gosh! You work here, too? I just started today, I get to take care of the bunnies! Oh, do you take care of these cutesy, spooky guys?” she asked, gesturing to the tarantula enclosures.

Tamara was almost annoyed, but the fact she didn’t seem scared off by the eight legged babies surprised her, especially for such a… girl. “Yes, these are my children. I also look after the snakes.”

Sarah gave a shiver at the mention of the scaley creatures and Tamara couldn’t help but smirk, it was kind of funny, plus, she couldn’t find someone who would like all the animals she did, but she supposed it was a good start.

“So you actually like spiders?”

Sarah nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yes! I mean, I don’t know all that much about them, but I think they are intriguing.”

Tamara opened like a book with words, telling her everything she knew about the species, wild vs. captivity and general care and maintenance, eventually they even moved on the world of the soft and fluffy – cats, dogs, bunnies, rats and more.

“Listen, I kind of thought we wouldn’t be able to get along, we seemed really different when we met the first time, but do you maybe want to get coffee again some time and we can maybe chat? Or, even better, can I tempt you with hot chocolate?” Sarah bounced her shoulder up and down suggestively and Tamara just burst out laughing, like the rich drink had become a saucy topic.

“Sure, that sounds great!”

And so dark and light came together, because the moon can’t shine without the sun, and you can’t see stars burn in the day, so they became the unlikely friends, painting in some contrast in each other’s lives.

Tamara got a refreshing and positive outlook on life from her new found friend, and Sarah found true insight into life and its meaning.