New Ways to Say I Care

Tomsen had ideas. “You could leave a friend a pretty leaf. You could sit close by, without touching. You could wave, or hum a little song just for them.”

Pip tried it the very next day. Pip left a heart-shaped leaf on Clover's doorstep. Pip sat near the squirrels while they played, close enough to feel part of things. Pip hummed a cheerful tune as the ducks paddled by.

Slowly, something wonderful began to happen. The other animals started waving back. Smiling more. Sitting closer.