The Chronicles of Friendship: The Break, the Book and the Rabbit

One day, you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again. ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

RIIIIINGDIGIDIGNDIGDING!!!!!!

A typical 5th graders’ school break. Ten minutes till another class starts. Ten minutes for my classmates to run around, chat and play on their smartphones. Ten minutes for me to deep dive into magic worlds of Narnia, and so I open my book.

Little did I know those were ten minutes were separating me from something incredibly beautiful.

- Извини, не могла бы ты немного подвинуться?

Ah, my annoying desk neighbour again. That straight A-girl that looks like a Rabbit from Winnie The Pooh (and acts the same way) was talking to me. What does she mean by “move around”, there is enough space for both of us to…

Read the same book?

Hold on a second.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. My desk neighbor pulled out the identical issue of Chronicles of Narnia from her backpack and started reading it next to me (luckily, not out loud). I could instantly recognize the book by the lion on its cover and soon enough I could see the same illustrations which always inspired me to draw Narnia stories afterwards.

My school mate was demonstratively reading the same book next to me. A coincidence?

- Ух ты, так тебе тоже нравятся "Хроники Нарнии"?

- Ага.

Instantly my guarded and suspicious sentiment towards my Rabbit neighbor vanished. Accidentally we dived into a conversation about the book just like Lucy Pevensie accidentally dived into the magic Wardrobe to discover a whole new fairytale world. Turned out we shared the same favorite characters, both got to read the book after watching the movie, and both were low-key obsessed about Narnia magic worlds and somehow, Polina – this was my Rabbit’s neighbour name – even had The Chronicles of Narnia multiplayer PC game.

- Если хочешь, мы можем поиграть в нее как-нибудь после занятий.

- Конечно!

And so, our friendship started. Polina became my first true friend in the new school. Somehow our “inner worlds” connected at The Chronicles or Narnia and since then, have been shaping each other. Soon we discovered a whole bunch of other things we shared in common: from Zodiac sign to toys we used to have as babies to favorite cartoons and music. Polina’s grandparents apartment was right next to mine, so each time after school we would go for a walk and have lunch together – somehow at hers, somehow at mine – and then play The Chronicles of Narnia PC game.

Since there was no computer in her grandparent’s place, our games there had a more creative character. Once we got a big A3 sheet of paper and started drawing Narnia land.

We never finished the drawing because we started arguing about what it should look like.

We would argue a lot, and have fights about the most trivial things – like me being greedy to lend her money so that she can buy an ice-cream – or her “dark humor” jokes that would offend the 10-year-old me, since I never been exposed to anyone sounding so mean before.

These days, as adults, we don’t talk often (yet Polina’s jokes are not so “dark” anymore) but whenever we call, I still sense our 10-year-old selves living next door and hanging on the landline to agree whose place are we going to play in tonight. With Polina I knew I could always be myself since the Chronicles of Narnia book has connected us, which as she explained to me, was not by accident at all:

- You were so closed-off, aloof and reserved, and wouldn’t talk to anyone. I was really afraid to approach you – in fact, you seemed quite unreachable and even scary. So serious, really. I would watch you reading the book during the breaks and wonder: “Is it really so interesting you don’t want to talk to anyone?” So I asked my father to buy me the same book, because I was curious to see what is it about. And, well, have something talk to you about, finally.

We have been best friends for 16 years now.